<BillNo> <Sponsor>
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 34
By Powers
SJR0034
001576
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A RESOLUTION to recognize and honor Mary Nell Bryan on the
occasion of her retirement.
WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly should pause to
specially recognize those estimable Tennesseans who have dedicated themselves to improving
the quality of life for their fellow citizens; and
WHEREAS, Mary Nell Bryan is one such individual, who, after twenty years as executive
director of the Children's Hospital Alliance of Tennessee (CHAT), took her well-deserved
retirement on May 24, 2024; and
WHEREAS, CHAT is an advocacy organization dedicated to advancing the quality of
care for all children in Tennessee; since its founding in 2004, the organization has held fast to
its mission of ensuring that Tennessee has the best supported nonprofit comprehensive
children's hospitals in the country to provide quality health care for our State's children; and
WHEREAS, from CHAT's inception until her retirement, Ms. Bryan stood faithfully at the
helm, working to inform the State's elected representatives and their staff of issues impacting
children's health; she was a leader in advocating for additional funding to support the pediatric
mental and behavioral health crisis affecting children across the State; and
WHEREAS, Mary Nell Bryan worked with leaders to support the statewide expansion of
CoverKids, the passage of smoke-free workplace legislation, the passage of the child safety
seat law, the statewide expansion of Coordinated School Health, and the Katie Beckett
expansion, which increased physical activity in schools and improved nutrition standards in
Tennessee school vending machines and cafeterias; and
WHEREAS, throughout her exemplary tenure as executive director, Ms. Bryan has
carried out her responsibilities with diligence and integrity; her remarkable success as a public
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servant and civic leader has been directly attributable to her reliance on the time-honored
values of hard work and common sense and her uncommon ability to work well with people from
all walks of life; and
WHEREAS, a strong advocate for the children of Tennessee, Ms. Bryan has compiled a
singular record of success during her exemplary career, and she should be specially
recognized; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we recognize and honor Mary Nell Bryan on the
occasion of her retirement as executive director of Children's Hospital Alliance of Tennessee,
extending our best wishes for every future success and happiness.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
without House or Senate designation.