Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HR582 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	H.R. No. 582
2	2
3	3
4	4	R E S O L U T I O N
5	5	WHEREAS, The passing of admired civic leader Devoyd Jennings
6	6	of Fort Worth on July 24, 2021, at the age of 73, brought a great
7	7	loss to his family and friends; and
8	8	WHEREAS, Born in Los Angeles, California, on September 10,
9	9	1947, "Dee" Jennings was the son of William and Margaret Jennings;
10	10	he grew up in Fort Worth and attended I. M. Terrell High School and
11	11	Tarrant County Community College before completing his bachelor's
12	12	degree in marketing at Texas Wesleyan University; in 1973, he began
13	13	working for Texas Electric as a consumer specialist, and during his
14	14	noteworthy 27-year career with the company, he became its first
15	15	African American lobbyist; and
16	16	WHEREAS, Mr. Jennings was involved in many business and civic
17	17	organizations and served as president and CEO of the Fort Worth
18	18	Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce; he was instrumental in its
19	19	establishment of two leadership programs, Paths Forward and BRIDGE;
20	20	in addition, he helped create two standalone organizations that
21	21	directly benefit minority development, the William Mann Jr.
22	22	Community Development Corporation and Southeast Fort Worth
23	23	Incorporated; he further served as chair of the North Texas Tollway
24	24	Authority's Business Diversity Advisory Committee and worked
25	25	tirelessly with public officials and others to advance minority-
26	26	and women-owned businesses; deeply committed to education, he was a
27	27	member of the board of Texas Wesleyan University for nearly two
28	28	decades; he successfully championed the refurbishing of his old
29	29	elementary school, G. W. Carver, and the reopening of I. M. Terrell
30	30	as a STEM and performing arts academy; moreover, he was an active
31	31	alumnus of the I. M. Terrell Class of 1966; the recipient of
32	32	numerous accolades, he was honored by the City of Fort Worth in 1992
33	33	and 2005 with proclamations of Devoyd Jennings Day; he was also
34	34	recognized three times by the Fort Worth Business Press, most
35	35	recently with a 2017 Minority Leaders in Business Award; and
36	36	WHEREAS, Devoted to his family, Mr. Jennings shared a
37	37	fulfilling 41-year marriage with his wife, Gwen; he took great
38	38	pride in his 5 children, Charles, Robert, Demeka, Carla, and
39	39	Sharla, as well as his 11 grandchildren, Gerome, Jasmine, Jordan,
40	40	Isis, Kyzier, Zion, Anthony, Dominique, Lala, Jared, and Yancy, and
41	41	his great-granddaughter, Princess; in his free time, he enjoyed
42	42	listening to jazz and playing basketball; and
43	43	WHEREAS, Dee Jennings gave freely of his time and expertise
44	44	to better his community, and his record of service will be a lasting
45	45	source of inspiration to all who were privileged to know him; now,
46	46	therefore, be it
47	47	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
48	48	Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Devoyd "Dee" Jennings
49	49	and extend sincere condolences to his loved ones; and, be it further
50	50	RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
51	51	prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
52	52	Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Dee
53	53	Jennings.
54	54	Collier
55	55	______________________________
56	56	Speaker of the House
57	57	I certify that H.R. No. 582 was unanimously adopted by a
58	58	rising vote of the House on March 30, 2023.
59	59	______________________________
60	60	Chief Clerk of the House