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| 4 | 4 | | SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, Family-owned businesses play a vital role in the |
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| 6 | 6 | | prosperity of the Lone Star State, and in 2018, the Shoults family |
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| 7 | 7 | | of Marshall celebrated the 75th anniversary of Bear Creek |
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| 8 | 8 | | Smokehouse; and |
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| 9 | 9 | | WHEREAS, This iconic enterprise was established in 1943, when |
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| 10 | 10 | | Hick and Nellie Shoults set up a small smokehouse and began smoking |
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| 11 | 11 | | the turkeys they raised on their farm; aided from the start by their |
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| 12 | 12 | | son, Bobby, the family first sold their turkeys through local |
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| 13 | 13 | | grocers, and as their products became more popular, they further |
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| 14 | 14 | | developed their seasonal business to include a wider selection of |
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| 15 | 15 | | smoked meats, including beef, pork, and chicken; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, The family eventually stopped raising their own |
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| 17 | 17 | | livestock and focused on expanding the smokehouse operations, and |
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| 18 | 18 | | in 1959, Bobby Shoults's new bride, Brenda, joined the company, |
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| 19 | 19 | | helping take catalog orders from customers across the nation; when |
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| 20 | 20 | | Bobby and Brenda's son, Robbie, came aboard, he took the smokehouse |
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| 21 | 21 | | in a new direction, opening a general store to supplement the |
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| 22 | 22 | | wholesale business; and |
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| 23 | 23 | | WHEREAS, Bobby Shoults passed away in 2017, but Bear Creek |
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| 24 | 24 | | continues to thrive under the leadership of his son, Robbie, his |
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| 25 | 25 | | grandson, Hunter, and their wives, Tracy and Stacia, as well as |
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| 26 | 26 | | through the invaluable efforts of their more than 50 employees; in |
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| 27 | 27 | | October 2018, the business entered a new phase with the grand |
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| 28 | 28 | | opening of a 10,000-square-foot general store and event center, |
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| 29 | 29 | | which is available for weddings, reunions, and parties; and |
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| 30 | 30 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of three-quarters of a century, four |
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| 31 | 31 | | generations of the Shoults family have built one of the signature |
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| 32 | 32 | | businesses of East Texas, and by creating jobs and helping to |
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| 33 | 33 | | strengthen the economic environment of Marshall, Bear Creek |
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| 34 | 34 | | Smokehouse is contributing to the vitality of that community; now, |
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| 35 | 35 | | therefore, be it |
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| 36 | 36 | | RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 37 | 37 | | hereby congratulate the members of the Shoults family on the 75th |
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| 38 | 38 | | anniversary of Bear Creek Smokehouse and extend to them and to their |
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| 39 | 39 | | employees sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it |
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| 40 | 40 | | further |
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| 41 | 41 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 42 | 42 | | prepared for the Shoults family as an expression of high regard by |
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| 43 | 43 | | the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |
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