H.R. No. 776
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, Women's History Month is held each March to
  celebrate the myriad accomplishments of women in every field and
  every facet of our society, and this observance provides a fitting
  opportunity to recognize Bexar County women who have made a
  significant positive impact in the community; and
         WHEREAS, Lucy Adame-Clark is the first Latina and the first
  woman elected as Bexar County clerk; in this role, she also serves
  as the Bexar County treasurer, as a member of the Bexar County Bail
  Bond Board, and as chair of the Records Management Committee; she
  was employed for many years by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office,
  and her work in the Criminal Investigation Division encompassed
  numerous high-profile cases; and
         WHEREAS, Pamela Espurvoa Allen is the founder and president
  of Eagles Flight Advocacy and Outreach, as well as the special needs
  ministry director and consultant for Summit Christian Center; she
  serves as a champion for parents trying to navigate the special
  education process to obtain the services their children require; in
  addition, she advocates for refugees and assisted in facilitating
  the participation of refugee children in the Head Start program;
  and
         WHEREAS, Judge Mary Lou Alvarez presides over the 45th
  District Court; recently, she published an activity book to educate
  children about the county and the judicial system; before taking
  the bench, she spent the majority of her career at Texas RioGrande
  Legal Aid, representing victims of domestic violence; and
         WHEREAS, The recipient of the 2020 Bexar County Pioneer
  Award, the Honorable Stephanie Boyd, is presiding judge of the
  187th Judicial District Court; she is a member of the Order of
  Barristers and a Fellow of the Texas Bar Foundation, a prestigious
  charitable organization; previously, she served as president of the
  San Antonio Black Lawyers Association and held a seat on the board
  of Youth Transitioning into Adulthood, a program for those aging
  out of the foster care system; and
         WHEREAS, Following 19 years of service with the Bexar County
  Sheriff's Office, Kathryn "Kat" Brown was elected as Bexar County
  constable for Precinct 4; she attained the rank of sergeant and was
  active in community relations; as a survivor of ovarian and breast
  cancer, she has advocated for cancer awareness and supported
  community engagement projects; and
         WHEREAS, Beverly Watts Davis has served the community in a
  variety of capacities, including as executive director of San
  Antonio Fighting Back; she has shared her expertise as a member of
  the Austin Community College Board of Trustees, the U.S. Department
  of Housing and Urban Development National Advisory Committee, and
  the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, among other
  organizations; moreover, she is a founder and former chair of the
  board of the Women's Chamber of Commerce of Texas; and
         WHEREAS, Janie Martinez Gonzalez is the CEO of Webhead, a
  firm that provides cybersecurity solutions to clients across the
  nation; she founded the company while she was still in college; in
  early 2023, she was appointed as chair of the CPS Energy Board of
  Trustees; she joined the board in 2019 and previously served as vice
  chair of the utility; in addition, she has chaired the board's
  Technology & Resilience and Personnel Committees; and
         WHEREAS, The first openly gay judge elected in Bexar County,
  the Honorable Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, presides over County Court
  13, the Reflejo Court; she and her wife, Dr. Stacy Speedlin
  Gonzalez, championed the passage of House Bill 3529 in 2019, which
  paved the way for this court to provide a holistic, public health
  approach for first-time domestic violence offenders who struggle
  with substance abuse; and
         WHEREAS, Melissa Cabello Havrda has represented District 6 on
  the San Antonio City Council since 2019; she chairs the Public
  Safety Committee and Municipal Courts Advisory Committee, and she
  also serves on several other committees and as vice chair of the
  Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization; in addition, she is
  a member of the board of the San Antonio Education Partnership and
  the Investments Subcommittee of the San Antonio Fire and Police
  Pension Fund Board of Trustees; and
         WHEREAS, Judge Yolanda Huff presides over Bexar County Court
  12, the designated Misdemeanor Mental Health Specialty Court;
  during her career in private practice, she specialized in juvenile
  and family law; she has twice served as president of the San Antonio
  Black Lawyers Association, and she has shared her expertise on the
  boards of such organizations as Youth Transitioning Into Adulthood,
  for foster children exiting the system, and the Children's Court Ad
  Litem Association; and
         WHEREAS, Born in Nigeria, Pastor Shetigho Nakpodia was
  ordained in 1994 and served as a traveling evangelist for a decade;
  she then purchased an old, dilapidated house of worship in a
  troubled neighborhood on San Antonio's East Side to establish
  Redeemer's Praise Church as a place of refuge as well as spiritual
  guidance; devoted to serving the unsheltered and impoverished, she
  provides meals to those who attend worship services, prayer
  meetings, and Bible study; she and her volunteers also travel the
  city to deliver food and clothing; and
         WHEREAS, Philanthropist Kymberly Rapier Verette and her
  husband, Glenn Verette, have donated millions of dollars to help
  the most vulnerable residents in the area; their generosity has
  benefited numerous charitable organizations, among them SAM
  Ministries, the city's largest provider of services to the
  homeless, Boysville, a home for children in crisis, Morgan's
  Wonderland, a special-needs theme park, and Communities in Schools
  of San Antonio, a program for at-risk youth; and
         WHEREAS, Francine Romero serves as vice chair of CPS Energy,
  San Antonio's electric and gas utility; a professor at The
  University of Texas at San Antonio College for Health, Community
  and Policy, she is chair of the Department of Public
  Administration; her long record of public service includes tenures
  as a zoning commissioner and as vice chair of the San Antonio Parks
  and Recreation advisory board; a former chair of the San Antonio
  Conservation Advisory Board, she worked with the mayor in 2020 to
  identify an alternative funding mechanism for the Edwards Aquifer
  Protection Program; and
         WHEREAS, For nearly a decade, Marion Thomas has served as CEO
  and executive director of Blessed Angels Community Center; she and
  her husband dipped into their savings as they entered retirement to
  establish the nonprofit emergency food bank, which serves senior
  citizens, veterans, the homeless, and families in need, partnering
  with such organizations as the San Antonio Food Bank and the
  National Veterans Outreach Program of the American GI Forum; and
         WHEREAS, Yolanda Valenzuela is the founder and CEO of Alamo
  City Consultants, a company that helps nonprofit agencies improve
  systems and organizational development; as vice president of
  programs and operations for Child Advocates San Antonio, she
  dramatically increased the number of volunteers, and she went on to
  work with CASA at the state level; and
         WHEREAS, Since 2019, Leticia Vazquez has served Bexar County
  residents as constable for Precinct 2; she brought to her role more
  than a quarter century of experience as a deputy in the county
  sheriff's office; after serving as a detention officer, she worked
  on patrol with the S.C.O.R.E. unit; she holds certification as a
  master peace officer; and
         WHEREAS, These exceptional women have demonstrated a deep
  commitment to Bexar County, and through their tireless endeavors on
  behalf of their fellow citizens, they have set an example of civic
  engagement to which others may aspire; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
  Legislature hereby honor Lucy Adame-Clark, Pamela Espurvoa Allen,
  Mary Lou Alvarez, Stephanie Boyd, Kathryn Brown, Beverly Watts
  Davis, Janie Martinez Gonzalez, Rosie Speedlin Gonzalez, Melissa
  Cabello Havrda, Yolanda Huff, Shetigho Nakpodia, Kymberly Rapier,
  Francine Romero, Marion Thomas, Yolanda Valenzuela, and Leticia
  Vazquez for their contributions to Bexar County on the occasion of
  Women's History Month 2023 and extend to them sincere best wishes
  for the future; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared
  for these civic leaders as an expression of high regard by the Texas
  House of Representatives.
 
  Garcia
 
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
 
         I certify that H.R. No. 776 was adopted by the House on March
  29, 2023, by a non-record vote.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House