Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee House Bill HJR0641 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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2	2	<BillNo> <Sponsor>
3	3
4	4	HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 641
5	5	By Maberry
6	6
7	7
8	8	HJR0641
9	9	007275
10	10	- 1 -
11	11
12	12	A RESOLUTION to congratulate Cadet Kenneth Darden, recipient
13	13	of the CSM Darol Walker Award from Austin
14	14	Peay State University.
15	15
16	16	WHEREAS, it is fitting that we should salute those citizens who, through their
17	17	extraordinary efforts, have distinguished themselves as true leaders of whom we can all be
18	18	proud; and
19	19	WHEREAS, one such noteworthy person is Cadet Kenneth Darden, a member of the
20	20	United States Army who has been in the Green to Gold Active Duty Option (GTG ADO) program
21	21	at Austin Peay State University (APSU) since August 2023; and
22	22	WHEREAS, Cadet Darden was recently named the recipient of APSU's CSM Darol
23	23	Walker Award, which honors a senior (MSIV) Army ROTC cadet who has excelled across the
24	24	board (academically, militarily, and in extracurricular activities), and is also on the Ranger
25	25	Challenge team, which competes each fall against nearly forty other school teams from the
26	26	other schools in Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan; and
27	27	WHEREAS, this prestigious award is named in memory of CSM (Ret.) Darol Walker,
28	28	USA (Ret.), a native of Albany, Missouri, who served for four years in the U.S. Navy before
29	29	joining the U.S. Army as an infantryman and completed two tours in Vietnam; a highly decorated
30	30	soldier and graduate of the Sergeants Major Academy, CSM Walker served as senior military
31	31	instructor with APSU's Army ROTC in the late 1970s; and
32	32	WHEREAS, Cadet Kenneth Darden, a native of Houston, Texas, enlisted in the Army in
33	33	2013; his military occupational skill was 92Y (Unit Supply Specialist), and he rose to the rank of
34	34	Sergeant First Class before entering the Green to Gold Active Duty Option program at APSU;
35	35	and
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37	37
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40	40	WHEREAS, Cadet Darden has eleven years of active duty service, during which time he
41	41	was deployed three times to serve in Iraq; his most recent assignment was with the 160
42	42	th
43	43
44	44	Special Operations Aviation Regiment; and
45	45	WHEREAS, his military service includes acting as Battalion Property Book Non-
46	46	Commissioned Officer in charge and the Non-Commissioned Officer in charge of an Aviation
47	47	Company, as well as the Platoon Sergeant for an Aviation Company; and
48	48	WHEREAS, Cadet Darden has been duly honored for his valiant military service, earning
49	49	the Army Commendation Medal, six awards of the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good
50	50	Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star,
51	51	Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army
52	52	Good Conduct Medal, Parachutist Badge, and Air Assault Badge; and
53	53	WHEREAS, while at APSU, Cadet Kenneth Darden has maintained a 3.7 grade point
54	54	average while earning a bachelor's degree in leadership science; he was crowned APSU's Fall
55	55	2024 Homecoming King and has served with the Student Government Association and as a
56	56	Governors Ambassador; and
57	57	WHEREAS, he is also the captain of the 2024-2025 Ranger Challenge Team, which
58	58	finished third out of thirty-eight teams in the Fall 2024 Brigade Competition at Fort Knox,
59	59	Kentucky; and
60	60	WHEREAS, we find it appropriate to acknowledge and applaud Cadet Darden for his
61	61	commitment to excellence, devotion to serving others, and dedication to the State of Tennessee
62	62	and its citizens; now, therefore,
63	63	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
64	64	FOURTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE
65	65	CONCURRING, that we congratulate Cadet Kenneth Darden upon his receipt of the 2025 CSM
66	66
67	67
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69	69
70	70	Darol Walker Award from Austin Peay State University, extending our best wishes for every
71	71	continued success.
72	72	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
73	73	for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
74	74	the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
75	75	without House or Senate designation.