H.R. No. 452

R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Citizens of Lubbock are visiting Austin on March 31, 2021, to pay tribute to their city's rich heritage and to celebrate Lubbock Day at the State Capitol; and

WHEREAS, The Lubbock area is one of the oldest inhabited places in Texas; archaeologists have discovered evidence of some 12,000 years of continuous habitation at the Lubbock Lake Landmark site, a national historic and state archaeological preserve; and

WHEREAS, The City of Lubbock was incorporated on March 16, 1909; railroads stimulated the city's growth as a trade center, but residents also wanted the benefits of an institution of higher learning; when legislation creating Texas Technological College was passed in 1923, the site selection committee was impressed by the enthusiasm and hospitality of the city's residents and chose Lubbock for the college's location; and

WHEREAS, Today, the city and its surrounding area have a population of more than 300,000 people, and it is home to the Texas Tech University System and its flagship institution, Texas Tech University, a school well deserving of its Tier One status; and

WHEREAS, The Texas Tech Health Sciences Center attracts students from around the world; in 2016, it was named the number one graduate school by SR Education Group, and it is consistently ranked among the top universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report; and

WHEREAS, Lubbock's three universities and one public community college annually draw more than 50,000 students to the area and refresh the local economy with thousands of new graduates each year, creating a community where more than 35 percent of residents over the age of 25 hold a college degree or higher; and

WHEREAS, Texas Tech's athletic programs have achieved historic successes; the men's basketball team reached its first Elite Eight in 2018, followed by a Final Four appearance in 2019, and the baseball team has appeared four times in the College World Series in the past seven years, while the track and field team has won indoor and outdoor Big 12 championships; in addition, the women's basketball team at Lubbock Christian University won a national championship in 2016; and

WHEREAS, Lubbock's metropolitan area labor force is vibrant, and the cost of doing business continues to rank among the lowest in the nation because of low rates for electric and natural gas utilities, as well as affordable land, wage rates, and cost of living; and

WHEREAS, Lubbock is consistently recognized by national organizations for its business-friendly atmosphere, and it has been named the number one city for professional women, ranked in the top 20 for young entrepreneurs to start a business, and named seventh in the 2014 Forbes list of "Opportunity Cities" based on the city's low cost of living, its cultural offerings, and the strength of its business community; and

WHEREAS, Lubbock enjoys a diverse economy that draws its strength from agribusiness, manufacturing, and commerce, as well as from educational and health care services, and the city boasts the largest medical infrastructure to be found between Dallas and Phoenix; with the growth of cotton culture on the High Plains, Lubbock has become one of the world's primary centers for the processing of cottonseed and hybrid grain sorghum seed; and

WHEREAS, The Lubbock region also features several major, award-winning wineries and vineyards, and the area north of Lubbock is known for its cattle production; and

WHEREAS, Lubbock offers a wealth of cultural institutions and recreational opportunities, including the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the Lubbock Civic Ballet, the Museum and Planetarium and other offerings at Texas Tech University, and the Silent Wings Museum; a new, state-of-the-art performing arts center is under construction and is to be named after local legend and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame inductee Buddy Holly; Lubbock County voters have also approved the construction of the new Lubbock County Expo Center to serve as a multipurpose event center for the region; and

WHEREAS, Through meticulously planned infrastructure, city leaders have created a low-traffic community with the number one ranked commute in the state and more neighborhood parks per capita than any other city in Texas; and

WHEREAS, Those wanting a glimpse of the frontier can find it in the restored structures at the Ranching Heritage Center, a 15-acre site tracing the evolution of ranch architecture and the history of the cattle industry; the region's history is also celebrated at the Bayer Museum of Agriculture; and

WHEREAS, Many talented musicians have come from the Lubbock area; they include Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, the Maines family, Virgil Johnson and the Velvets, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock, Pat Green, and Josh Abbott; their rich and diverse contributions have earned Lubbock and West Texas recognition as the "Music Crossroads of Texas"; and

WHEREAS, Lubbock's thriving business community is represented by the largest business federation on the Texas South Plains, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, which grows and guards the prosperity of the Lubbock area; and

WHEREAS, Early major achievements propelled by the chamber during more than a century of service include recruiting out-of-state farmers to populate the area and make productive the fertile soils of the Llano Estacado, working to bring the railroad to Lubbock, founding the South Plains Fair, and drafting and delivering the application to the Texas Capitol that would result in establishing Texas Technological College, which today thrives as the heart of the Texas Tech University System; and

WHEREAS, The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce was also instrumental in establishing Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport, Reese Air Force Base, and the area's outstanding transportation infrastructure, and it recently introduced an Association Health Plan for its small-business members in 34 West Texas counties and is the first chamber in Texas to launch such a plan; and

WHEREAS, The citizens of Lubbock have truly kept faith with the founders of their West Texas community; renowned for their friendliness and warmth as well as their hardiness and determination, they have helped to build a vital urban center that serves not only a large part of West Texas but also eastern New Mexico; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas Legislature hereby recognize March 31, 2021, as Lubbock Day at the State Capitol and extend to the members of the visiting delegation and all their fellow citizens sincere appreciation for the bright luster they add to the Lone Star State.

Frullo Burrows

______________________________ Speaker of the House

I certify that H.R. No. 452 was adopted by the House on April 1, 2021, by a non-record vote.

______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House