Bill Text: TX HR776 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring Women of Bexar County for Women's History Month.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)
Status: (Passed) 2023-03-29 - Reported enrolled [HR776 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HR776-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 776 | ||
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| 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 | ||
