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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, A life dedicated to social and environmental justice |
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and to the service of her nation drew to a close with the death of |
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Judith P. Ackerman of El Paso on November 6, 2022, at the age of 69; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Judy Ackerman joined the 28th Infantry of the |
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Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 1980, embarking upon a |
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distinguished 27-year career in the U.S. Army; she was one of the |
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first women to teach a course for primary noncommissioned officers |
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in the NCO education system, and she was a lesson developer at the |
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U.S. Army's Sergeants Major Academy and the first sergeant for the |
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Equipment Maintenance Center of 21st Theater Support Command in |
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Kaiserslautern, Germany; throughout her military service, she was a |
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champion for diversity and equal opportunity, and she retired from |
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the army in 2007 at the rank of sergeant major; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1995, Sergeant Ackerman transferred to Fort |
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Bliss, and she fell in love with the El Paso region; she was a leader |
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in the effort to declare the Castner Range of the Franklin Mountains |
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as a national monument, and in 2012 she handcuffed herself to a |
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bulldozer to protect the Rio Bosque wetlands from construction; she |
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also played a leading role in the development of the Knapp Land |
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Nature Preserve; and |
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WHEREAS, A member of the League of Women Voters and a |
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deputized voter registrar, Ms. Ackerman signed up thousands of |
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voters in El Paso County; she also helped to found the Viejitas for |
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Choice network to preserve reproductive rights; she was an active |
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member of many other organizations, including the Sierra Club, the |
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Friends of the Rio Bosque, the El Paso Chapter of the Native Plant |
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Society of New Mexico, the Trans-Pecos Chapter Texas Master |
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Naturalists, and the Frontera Land Alliance; and |
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WHEREAS, Judy Ackerman lived a rich and purposeful life |
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dedicated to conserving the natural splendor of El Paso and to |
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fighting for social justice, and her passion and commitment will |
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forever inspire all those who knew and loved her; now, therefore, be |
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it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Judy Ackerman and |
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extend sincere condolences to her husband, Jamie Ackerman, to the |
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other members of her family, and to her countless friends; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Judy |
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Ackerman. |