89R20537 JRI-D
By: Garcia of Bexar H.R. No. 597
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Mary Burns Michael is receiving the Outstanding
Texan Award for House District 124 from the Texas Legislative Black
Caucus on March 19, 2025; and
WHEREAS, A fitting recipient of this honor, Ms. Michael was
born in rural Georgia and earned a bachelor's degree in education
from Albany State College in 1955; over the course of her 35-year
career, she taught at schools in Georgia and Texas as well as in
Japan with the Department of Defense Overseas School System; along
the way, she was nominated for many awards, including the Trinity
Prize for excellence in teaching, and she received the Shining Star
Award, Mentoring Award, and Black Achievement Award for Excellence
in Education; she retired in 1992, and the Northside Independent
School District in San Antonio named Michael Elementary School in
recognition of her many years of service; this beloved educator
continues to make frequent visits to the campus and to serve in
advisory roles with Northside ISD; and
WHEREAS, Ms. Michael has also found time to give back to the
greater community; she volunteered as the unit chaplain for
Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Unit 128, where she strove to
help veterans in need; as the group's community service chair, she
created the Baskets of Joy program at the Audie L. Murphy Memorial
and Kerrville VA Medical Centers to provide care packages to
veterans staying at those facilities; in addition to her work for
the VA, she has held membership in the San Antonio Storytellers, and
she is a former consultant for Macmillan/McGraw-Hill Publishers;
and
WHEREAS, Through her myriad contributions, Mary Burns
Michael has made a positive difference in the lives of countless
Texans, and she is indeed deserving of special recognition for
being a force for good in her community; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
Legislature hereby congratulate Mary Burns Michael on her receipt
of a 2025 Outstanding Texan Award from the Texas Legislative Black
Caucus and extend to her sincere best wishes for the future; and, be
it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for Ms. Michael as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives.