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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The State of Texas lost a communications pioneer and |
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wise political counselor with the death of Julian Otis Read of |
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Austin on May 8, 2021, at the age of 93; and |
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WHEREAS, Born outside of Fort Worth on June 8, 1927, Julian |
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Read was the son of Tillie Naomi Swaim and James Otis Read, who |
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moved into town to provide educational opportunities for their son |
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and his sister, Opal; when he was just 18, Mr. Read began his career |
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as a copy boy and hard-charging cub reporter for the now-legendary |
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Fort Worth Press; he also took freelance work, including publicity |
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for a promising young singer named Elvis Presley; in 1951, at the |
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dawn of the advertising age, he launched a public relations and ad |
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agency out of a one-room apartment, and only later did he complete |
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his economics degree at Texas Christian University; and |
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WHEREAS, His company, Read-Poland, grew into a powerhouse |
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with five offices in Texas and another in the nation's capital; its |
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host of business clients included the San Antonio HemisFair, |
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Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Southwest Airlines, and |
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Disney's World on Ice; during the Cold War, Mr. Read helped the |
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skating show part the Iron Curtain to perform in Eastern Europe; he |
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was instrumental in wearing down decades of resistance to the |
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revolutionary Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft, leading |
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to its successful implementation by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps; |
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by transfiguring the television show of University of Texas |
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football coach Darrell Royal, he created a national model for such |
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sports programs; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1954, he guided the congressional campaign of the |
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mayor of Weatherford, Jim Wright, who scored a major upset and went |
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on to become speaker of the House; Mr. Read advised the campaigns of |
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six U.S. presidents, from both parties; in 1961, John Connally |
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asked him to run his first gubernatorial campaign, and his |
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victorious strategy incorporated five-minute "Coffee with |
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Connally" TV spots, an innovative use of the medium; he formed a |
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lasting bond with Governor Connally's family, and as his press |
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secretary, Mr. Read was liaison to the White House press corps |
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traveling to Dallas with President John F. Kennedy on November 22, |
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1963; having witnessed the assassination from his place in the |
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motorcade, he rushed to the side of the governor's wife at Parkland |
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Hospital; he received her account and delivered to the |
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international media the first briefing from a perspective inside |
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the presidential limousine; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Read completed the merger of Read-Poland with |
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global communications giant Burson Cohn & Wolfe in 2001, and he |
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maintained a presence in the Austin office until his passing; in |
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addition, he wrote a book, JFK's Final Hours in Texas, published by |
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UT's Briscoe Center for American History in 2013; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the years, Mr. Read often proclaimed himself |
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the luckiest man in the world for having married Mary Anice Barber, |
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on April 12, 1952; they became the parents of two daughters, Ellen |
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and Courtney, and their treasured family eventually grew to include |
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three grandchildren, Faye, Katherine, and Clark, as well as three |
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great-grandchildren, Anice, Juliana, and Asher; the couple shared a |
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deep interest in historic preservation, and Mrs. Read was the |
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founder of the Texas Main Street Program at the Texas Historical |
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Commission, while Mr. Read served as a member of Friends of the THC, |
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the Austin History Center, the LBJ Presidential Library, and the |
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Briscoe Center, where his extensive archives are housed; he |
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continued his efforts following Mrs. Read's death in 1999; and |
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WHEREAS, Julian Read left his imprint on Texas history and |
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earned the admiration of all who knew him, not only for his |
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remarkable accomplishments, but also for his kindness and |
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generosity, and he will forever hold a special place in the hearts |
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of his loved ones and legions of friends; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Julian Otis Read and |
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extend sincere condolences to all who mourn his passing; and, be it |
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further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Julian |
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Read. |
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Hinojosa |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1163 was unanimously adopted by a |
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rising vote of the House on May 23, 2021. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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