88R32600 JRI-D
 
  By: Manuel H.R. No. 2360
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, Port of Port Arthur commissioner Linda Turner Spears
  has greatly benefited the citizens of Southeast Texas through her
  exceptional record of civic engagement; and
         WHEREAS, A veteran educator and Port Arthur native,
  Commissioner Spears is currently secretary/treasurer of the port;
  for two years, she served as president, becoming the first Black
  commissioner to hold that office; she is the founder of Camp
  Seaport, an educational program designed to introduce high school
  students to careers in the maritime industry; in 2010, the camp was
  honored by the American Association of Port Authorities for its
  success; and
         WHEREAS, Commissioner Spears graduated from Thomas Jefferson
  High School in 1971 and attended Lamar University; she began her
  rewarding career in education as a teacher's aide in Germany before
  returning to Texas; for 17 years, she worked for the Port Arthur
  Independent School District as an instructional aide in the special
  education department; she then went on to earn her bachelor's and
  master's degrees as well as an associate of applied science degree;
  though she retired in 2015, she returned to the classroom three
  years later, and today she teaches 11th-grade students at Woodrow
  Wilson Early College High School; and
         WHEREAS, Dedicated to her community, Commissioner Spears is a
  founding member of the Martin Luther King Jr. Support Group of
  Southeast Texas; a certified family life minister and a member of
  Greater Grace Temple Church of God in Christ, she serves as an
  evangelist missionary with the Texas Gulf Coast Ecclesiastical
  Jurisdiction; moreover, she was employed for seven years as the
  district coordinator for former state representative Joe Deshotel;
  she and her husband, Joseph Spears, shared a rewarding relationship
  until his passing in 2022; she is the proud mother of four children,
  and her treasured family also includes 11 grandchildren and 4
  great-grandchildren; and
         WHEREAS, Linda Turner Spears has made a lasting, positive
  difference in her community, and her outstanding accomplishments
  have earned the admiration and appreciation of countless area
  residents; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
  Legislature hereby honor Linda Turner Spears for her contributions
  to Port Arthur and Southeast Texas and extend to her sincere best
  wishes for the future; and, be it further
         RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
  prepared for Commissioner Spears as an expression of high regard by
  the Texas House of Representatives.