85R7428 KSM-F
By: Burrows H.R. No. 311
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Many notable citizens of Lubbock are visiting Austin
on February 22, 2017, to pay tribute to their city's rich heritage
and to celebrate Lubbock Day at the State Capitol; and
WHEREAS, A thriving region of the state, the Lubbock area is
one of the oldest inhabited places in Texas; archaeologists have
discovered evidence of some 12,000 years of continuous habitation
at the Lubbock Lake Landmark site, a national historic and state
archaeological preserve; and
WHEREAS, The City of Lubbock was incorporated on March 16,
1909; the railroads stimulated the city's growth as a trade center,
but residents also wanted the benefits of an institution of higher
learning; when legislation creating Texas Technological College
was finally passed in 1923, the site selection committee, impressed
by the enthusiasm and hospitality of local citizens, chose Lubbock
for its location; and
WHEREAS, Today a city of close to 250,000 people, Lubbock is
home to the Texas Tech University System and its flagship
institution, Texas Tech University, a school well deserving of its
recently acquired Tier One status; and
WHEREAS, The Texas Tech Health Sciences Center attracts
nearly 5,000 students from around the world, and it is currently
ranked as the number one medical school in the nation by the SR
Education Group, besting the programs at other notable institutions
such as Harvard, Stanford, and Yale; and
WHEREAS, Three universities, including Texas Tech, and one
public community college annually draw more than 53,000 students to
the area and refresh the local economy with around 10,000 new
graduates each year, creating a community where 30 percent of
residents over the age of 25 hold a college degree or higher; and
WHEREAS, Lubbock's regional labor force numbers more than
207,000, and the cost of doing business continues to rank as one of
the lowest in the nation, due to one of the lowest costs for
electric and natural gas utilities, as well as affordable land,
wage rates, cost of living, and property taxes; and
WHEREAS, Lubbock is consistently recognized by national
organizations for its business-friendly atmosphere, including
being named the number one city for professional women, ranked in
the top 20 for young entrepreneurs to start a business, and named
seventh in the 2014 Forbes list of "Opportunity Cities" based on low
cost of living, cultural offerings, and the strength of the
business community; and
WHEREAS, Lubbock enjoys a diverse economy that draws its
strength from agribusiness, manufacturing, and commerce, as well as
from educational and medical facilities, boasting the largest
medical infrastructure to be found between Dallas and Phoenix; with
the growth of cotton culture on the High Plains, Lubbock has become
one of the world's primary centers for the processing of cottonseed
and hybrid grain sorghum seed; and
WHEREAS, The Lubbock economy is deeply rooted in cotton
farming, and the city remains home to the world's largest
contiguous cotton patch; the area also features several major,
award-winning wineries and vineyards, which produce more than 70
percent of all the state's wine grapes; and
WHEREAS, Lubbock also offers a wealth of cultural
institutions and recreational opportunities, among them the
Lubbock Symphony Orchestra, the Lubbock Civic Ballet, the Museum
and Planetarium and other offerings at Texas Tech University, and
the Silent Wings Museum; moreover, plans are well under way for a
new, state-of-the-art performing arts center to be named after
local legend and Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Famer Buddy Holly; and
WHEREAS, City leaders meticulously planned infrastructure to
create a low-traffic community with more neighborhood parks per
capita than any other city in Texas; Lubbock is nicknamed the "Hub
City" because it is surrounded by five major highways, and it aims
to continue that legacy through the eventual expansion of
Interstate 27 that will assist in relieving congestion on other
major Texas highways; and
WHEREAS, Those wanting a glimpse of the frontier can find it
in the restored structures at the Ranching Heritage Center, a
15-acre site tracing the evolution of ranch architecture and the
history of the cattle industry; the region's history is also
celebrated at the Bayer Museum of Agriculture; and
WHEREAS, The talented musicians who have come from the
Lubbock area include Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, the Maines family,
Virgil Johnson and the Velvets, Waylon Jennings, Tanya Tucker, Joe
Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Pat Green, and Butch Hancock; their rich
and diverse contributions have earned Lubbock and West Texas
recognition as the official "Music Crossroads of Texas"; and
WHEREAS, Lubbock's thriving business community is
represented by the largest business federation on the Texas South
Plains, the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, which grows and guards the
prosperity of the Lubbock area; early major achievements by the
chamber during more than a century of service include recruiting
out-of-state farmers to populate the area and make productive the
fertile soils of the Llano Estacado, securing railroad service,
founding the South Plains Fair, and drafting and delivering the
application to the Texas Capitol that would result in establishing
Texas Technological College, which today thrives as the heart of
the Texas Tech University System; and
WHEREAS, The Lubbock Chamber of Commerce was also
instrumental in establishing Lubbock Preston Smith International
Airport, Reese Air Force Base, outstanding transportation
infrastructure, and a revolutionary market-driven Chamber Employer
Health Plan that is a model nationwide; committed to revitalizing
the community and creating a culturally sound, vibrant downtown,
the chamber oversees the efforts of Imagine Lubbock Together, a
private-public partnership; moreover, it is the nation's first and
only chamber to be twice 5-Star Accredited and twice named Chamber
of the Year; and
WHEREAS, Among the delegation visiting the Capitol today are
proud members of the chamber's 42nd Leadership Lubbock Class, who
represent the future business and community leaders of Lubbock; and
WHEREAS, The citizens of Lubbock have truly kept faith with
the founders of their West Texas community; renowned for their
friendliness and warmth as well as their hardiness and
determination, they have helped to build a vital urban center that
serves not only a large part of West Texas but also eastern New
Mexico; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize February 22, 2017, as Lubbock Day at
the State Capitol and extend to the members of the visiting
delegation and all their fellow citizens sincere appreciation for
the bright luster they add to the Lone Star State.