82R6355 MGR-D
By: Lewis H.R. No. 219
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Ector County South Side Senior Citizens Center
is being renamed and dedicated in memory of the late Salvador M.
Guerrero of Odessa at a ceremony taking place on January 28, 2011,
which would have been Mr. Guerrero's 92nd birthday; and
WHEREAS, An important community institution that is integral
to the lives of many area residents, the senior center serves
breakfast and lunch in partnership with Meals on Wheels, offers
bingo, movies, and arts and crafts, and encourages health and
wellness through exercise classes and regular blood pressure
screenings; and
WHEREAS, Honoree Salvador Montoya Guerrero was born in 1919
in Ciudad Acuna, Coahuila, Mexico; his family fled their homeland
during the Mexican Revolution and eventually settled in San Angelo;
after attending San Angelo Junior College, Mr. Guerrero served in
the United States Army during World War II; he participated in the
Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day and earned numerous
decorations, including five Battle Stars and the Croix de Guerre,
ultimately attaining the rank of line corporal; and
WHEREAS, On returning to Texas, Mr. Guerrero continued his
education, worked as a dry cleaner and presser, and pursued careers
in broadcasting and politics; he conducted radio programs in
Spanish in the Permian Basin area and later cohosted the Mexico
Tejano television show, and he further distinguished himself as an
Ector County commissioner from 1971 to 1978; and
WHEREAS, Active in a variety of civic groups, Mr. Guerrero
helped to organize the Odessa Boys and Girls Clubs and the local
American GI Forum and its auxiliary and junior branches; in
addition, he served as a charter member of the Odessa Basin Lions
Club and as a Boy Scout troop master, and he participated in the
Odessa Mexican American Chamber of Commerce, the Masonic Lodge, and
the local American Legion and VFW posts; he was president of the
Political Association of Spanish Speaking Organizations in 1962 and
received the Mayor's Citizenship Award and Freedom Medal in 1978;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Guerrero's civic contributions extended to the
community center that will now bear his name; he served as
supervisor of the original facility from 1958 to 1970 and played a
prominent role in renovation work that was completed in the 1980s; a
man of many talents, he also found time during his busy life to
teach naturalization classes in the Adult Basic Education program
at Odessa College, and he was inspired to write a memoir after
taking a course on Chicano literature at The University of Texas of
the Permian Basin; his book, Memorias: A West Texas Life, was
published in 1991; and
WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. Guerrero enjoyed the
love and support of his wife, Maria Flores Guerrero, and his
children, Raul, Christina, Alfredo, Richard, Raquel, and Edwardo;
and
WHEREAS, Although the people of Odessa lost a committed civic
leader with the death of Sal Guerrero on December 8, 2009, the
senior center named in his honor will serve as a lasting reminder of
the many contributions made by this esteemed man to Ector County and
the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of the Salvador M.
Guerrero Senior Center in Odessa; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Mr. Guerrero's family as an expression of high regard
by the Texas House of Representatives.