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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, Amarillo National Bank is celebrating its 125th |
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| 6 | 7 | | anniversary on March 18, 2017, providing a fitting opportunity to |
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| 7 | 8 | | recognize this venerable family-owned financial institution; and |
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| 8 | 9 | | WHEREAS, In 1892, just five years after Amarillo was founded, |
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| 9 | 10 | | a small bank opened on Polk Street; one of the institution's first |
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| 10 | 11 | | vice presidents was B. T. Ware, a cattleman and early business |
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| 11 | 12 | | leader in the town; he owned the bank from 1900 to 1906, when he sold |
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| 12 | 13 | | his shares and purchased another financial institution in nearby |
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| 13 | 14 | | Channing; three years later, he repurchased the Amarillo bank and |
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| 14 | 15 | | merged it with the one in Channing, and for the next 28 years, he |
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| 15 | 16 | | served as president of Amarillo National Bank; the business played |
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| 16 | 17 | | an instrumental role in the oil and gas industry in the Panhandle, |
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| 17 | 18 | | helped local families make it through the Great Depression, and |
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| 18 | 19 | | supported area farmers during the Dust Bowl; and |
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| 19 | 20 | | WHEREAS, Following Mr. Ware's death in 1937, his son Charles |
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| 20 | 21 | | became ANB's president, assisted by his brothers, Richard and |
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| 21 | 22 | | Arthur; together they led the institution through World War II and |
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| 22 | 23 | | the growth spurred by the opening of the Amarillo Air Force Base; in |
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| 23 | 24 | | 1950, ANB opened the first drive-up bank in the State of Texas, and |
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| 24 | 25 | | two decades later, Tol Ware, B. T.'s grandson, became ANB's |
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| 25 | 26 | | president, overseeing the construction of a 16-story headquarters |
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| 26 | 27 | | in downtown Amarillo and establishing the first automatic teller |
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| 27 | 28 | | machine in the state in 1978; and |
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| 28 | 29 | | WHEREAS, Tol Ware's son, Richard, took over in 1982, and, |
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| 29 | 30 | | alongside his brother Bill, shepherded the bank through the |
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| 30 | 31 | | financial crises of the 1980s, the introduction of online banking |
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| 31 | 32 | | in the 1990s, and the recession of 2008; today, Richard Ware serves |
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| 32 | 33 | | as chair and president, and his sons, William and Pat, serve as |
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| 33 | 34 | | executive vice presidents; Bill Ware's son, W. Tol Ware, is also a |
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| 34 | 35 | | member of the leadership team, and the three men represent the fifth |
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| 35 | 36 | | generation of the Ware family to manage the institution; and |
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| 36 | 37 | | WHEREAS, Thought to be the largest 100-percent family-owned |
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| 37 | 38 | | bank in the nation, Amarillo National Bank has served its community |
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| 38 | 39 | | with unwavering dedication for a century and a quarter, and the Ware |
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| 39 | 40 | | family and their staff may indeed take great pride in the bank's |
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| 40 | 41 | | impressive history; now, therefore, be it |
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| 41 | 42 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas |
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| 42 | 43 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 125th anniversary of Amarillo |
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| 43 | 44 | | National Bank and extend to the Ware family, their employees, and |
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| 44 | 45 | | their customers sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be |
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| 45 | 46 | | it further |
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| 46 | 47 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 47 | 48 | | prepared for Amarillo National Bank as an expression of high regard |
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| 48 | 49 | | by the Texas House of Representatives. |
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