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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Cruz Pantoja, a valued employee of the historic |
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Wilson Plaza in Corpus Christi, has earned the appreciation and |
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esteem of many members of her community over the course of her long |
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career at a South Texas landmark; and |
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WHEREAS, Wilson Plaza had its origins in 1927 as the Nixon |
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Building, the first skyscraper to be erected in Corpus Christi; |
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that structure was expanded in 1935 with the addition of the "Cotton |
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Exchange" annex; in 1947, the complex was purchased by oil and real |
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estate financier Sam E. Wilson, and in 1951, he added a 17-story |
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office tower with a four-story luxury penthouse, where he lived |
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with his wife, Ada; until Mrs. Wilson died in 1977, the tower was |
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the center of Corpus Christi's social scene; and |
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WHEREAS, Cruz Pantoja is the daughter of Estanislao Valdez |
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and Martha Valdez Pinones; her sister, Geneva, was the first member |
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of the family to work at Wilson Plaza, and when Geneva moved to |
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California in the late 1950s, their other sister, Matilde Zambrano, |
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took over her job as an elevator operator; and |
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WHEREAS, Mrs. Pantoja joined her sister as an elevator |
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operator at Wilson Plaza in 1966, and apart from a four-year period |
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when she was raising her two sons, Christopher and Juan, she has |
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worked there ever since; the manually operated elevators were |
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replaced with automatic models in 1995, but the two sisters were |
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held in such high regard by the building's tenants and management |
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that they were asked to stay on; today, Mrs. Pantoja represents the |
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plaza as an official greeter and concierge; and |
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WHEREAS, Cruz Pantoja is the wife of the late Juan Jose |
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Pantoja; in addition to her two sons, Mrs. Pantoja has been blessed |
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with a grandson, Joseph; and |
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WHEREAS, For more than five decades, this dedicated, |
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hardworking woman has assisted the tenants of, and countless |
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visitors to, Wilson Plaza, and through her warmth and friendliness, |
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she has brightened the day of all whom she has greeted; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commend Cruz Pantoja for |
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her many years of service at Wilson Plaza and extend to her sincere |
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best wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Mrs. Pantoja as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |