| 2 | 3 | | |
|---|
| 3 | 4 | | |
|---|
| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
|---|
| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Craig Hunter is retiring as director of law |
|---|
| 6 | 7 | | enforcement for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on August |
|---|
| 7 | 8 | | 31, 2017, concluding an exemplary career with the agency that has |
|---|
| 8 | 9 | | spanned 33 years; and |
|---|
| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Joining the department as a game warden in |
|---|
| 10 | 11 | | Montgomery County in 1984, Craig Hunter brought to his position |
|---|
| 11 | 12 | | nine years of law enforcement experience at the city and county |
|---|
| 12 | 13 | | levels; he was one of the first to use a decoy deer to catch illegal |
|---|
| 13 | 14 | | night hunters, and his initial night of operations resulted in more |
|---|
| 14 | 15 | | than 100 convictions; in 1998, he became the first Texas game warden |
|---|
| 15 | 16 | | to graduate from the FBI National Academy; while rising steadily |
|---|
| 16 | 17 | | through the TPWD ranks, he supervised the Internal Affairs Unit and |
|---|
| 17 | 18 | | the Executive Protection Team, and from 2001 until 2013, he also |
|---|
| 18 | 19 | | served on Governor Rick Perry's Special Operations Group and on the |
|---|
| 19 | 20 | | Homeland Security Council; and |
|---|
| 20 | 21 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Hunter supervised Field Operations and the |
|---|
| 21 | 22 | | Special Operations Unit before being named director of law |
|---|
| 22 | 23 | | enforcement in 2012; over the course of his tenure, he has |
|---|
| 23 | 24 | | investigated or supervised hundreds of criminal investigations as |
|---|
| 24 | 25 | | well as several officer-involved shootings, and he played a key |
|---|
| 25 | 26 | | role in the management and supervision of the responses to many |
|---|
| 26 | 27 | | emergencies, among them the Jarrell tornado, the Space Shuttle |
|---|
| 27 | 28 | | Columbia disaster, and Hurricanes Rita and Ike; following Hurricane |
|---|
| 28 | 29 | | Katrina in 2005, he led a team of more than 100 game wardens to New |
|---|
| 29 | 30 | | Orleans, where they conducted over 5,000 rescues; he received the |
|---|
| 30 | 31 | | Lifetime Achievement Award from the 100 Club of Texas in 2010; and |
|---|
| 31 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Colonel Hunter holds a federal commission as an |
|---|
| 32 | 33 | | agent for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; he completed his |
|---|
| 33 | 34 | | master's degree in criminal justice at Texas A&M |
|---|
| 34 | 35 | | University--Central Texas, and since 2000, he has served as an |
|---|
| 35 | 36 | | adjunct professor for the U.S. Army at Fort Hood; and |
|---|
| 36 | 37 | | WHEREAS, Through his outstanding leadership and steadfast |
|---|
| 37 | 38 | | commitment to excellence, Colonel Hunter has greatly benefited his |
|---|
| 38 | 39 | | fellow citizens in the Lone Star State and beyond, and he may indeed |
|---|
| 39 | 40 | | take pride in his long and impressive record of achievement; now, |
|---|
| 40 | 41 | | therefore, be it |
|---|
| 41 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
|---|
| 42 | 43 | | Legislature hereby congratulate Colonel Craig Hunter on his |
|---|
| 43 | 44 | | retirement as director of law enforcement for the Texas Parks and |
|---|
| 44 | 45 | | Wildlife Department and extend to him sincere best wishes for the |
|---|
| 45 | 46 | | future; and, be it further |
|---|
| 46 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|---|
| 47 | 48 | | prepared for Colonel Hunter as an expression of high regard by the |
|---|
| 48 | 49 | | Texas House of Representatives. |
|---|