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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Keith Keller of the Allen Keller Company has made |
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| 6 | 7 | | invaluable contributions to the Lone Star State during his many |
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| 7 | 8 | | years in highway construction; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, This esteemed Texan follows in the footsteps of his |
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| 9 | 10 | | father, Allen Keller, who began his career as a field clerk with |
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| 10 | 11 | | William Thornton in 1932 and went on to start two highway |
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| 11 | 12 | | construction businesses; he established the first in 1946 in |
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| 12 | 13 | | partnership with former Associated General Contractors president |
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| 13 | 14 | | Doc Killian, and he founded the second, the Allen Keller Company, in |
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| 14 | 15 | | Fredericksburg in 1953; and |
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| 15 | 16 | | WHEREAS, Keith Keller joined his father's business after |
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| 16 | 17 | | earning an engineering degree from The University of Texas at |
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| 17 | 18 | | Austin in 1964, and he became the company's president on April 1, |
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| 18 | 19 | | 1977; under his leadership, the Allen Keller Company received |
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| 19 | 20 | | recognition for its drill-and-shoot and limestone-crushing |
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| 20 | 21 | | techniques and was given responsibility for several of the most |
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| 21 | 22 | | dramatic road cuts on I-10 between Austin and El Paso; and |
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| 22 | 23 | | WHEREAS, When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed Executive |
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| 23 | 24 | | Order 11246, prohibiting employment discrimination in federally |
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| 24 | 25 | | funded construction contracts, Keith Keller and his |
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| 25 | 26 | | brother-in-law, James Kemp, helped coordinate efforts between the |
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| 26 | 27 | | Federal Highway Administration, the Texas Department of |
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| 27 | 28 | | Transportation, and construction companies in the hiring and |
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| 28 | 29 | | training of minority Texans; this initiative resulted in more than |
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| 29 | 30 | | 10,000 individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds finding gainful |
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| 30 | 31 | | employment in the industry; and |
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| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Respected and admired by his peers, Mr. Keller was |
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| 32 | 33 | | elected president of the Associated General Contractors of Texas in |
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| 33 | 34 | | 1986, an office his father had held a quarter-century earlier; in |
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| 34 | 35 | | this role, Keith Keller worked tirelessly to foster a rapport |
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| 35 | 36 | | between the AGC of Texas and the members of the Texas Legislature, |
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| 36 | 37 | | and the association's board of directors awarded him lifetime |
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| 37 | 38 | | membership following his retirement in 2015; he has also served on |
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| 38 | 39 | | the board of directors of the Security State Bank and Trust for more |
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| 39 | 40 | | than three decades; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, In all of his endeavors, Mr. Keller enjoys the love |
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| 41 | 42 | | and support of his wife, the former Marjorie Ann Alberthal, whom he |
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| 42 | 43 | | married on June 8, 1963, at Holy Ghost Lutheran Church in |
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| 43 | 44 | | Fredericksburg; and |
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| 44 | 45 | | WHEREAS, Over the past five decades, this consummate |
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| 45 | 46 | | professional has excelled in the highway construction industry, and |
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| 46 | 47 | | he can reflect with great pride on his outstanding record of |
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| 47 | 48 | | achievement; now, therefore, be it |
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| 48 | 49 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 49 | 50 | | Legislature hereby honor Keith Keller for his many years of service |
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| 50 | 51 | | to the highway construction industry and extend to him sincere best |
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| 51 | 52 | | wishes for the future; and, be it further |
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| 52 | 53 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 53 | 54 | | prepared for Mr. Keller as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 54 | 55 | | House of Representatives. |
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