H.R. No. 557 R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, April 5, 1995, marked the birthday of our esteemed 1-2 colleague, the Honorable Diana Davila, and the occasion is an 1-3 opportune time to recognize her for her extensive achievements; and 1-4 WHEREAS, The youngest of five children in her family, 1-5 Ms. Davila is a lifelong resident of Houston's East End, where her 1-6 family has resided for more than three decades; she earned her 1-7 elementary and secondary education in the Houston public school 1-8 system and, having graduated salutatorian of Austin High School, 1-9 went on to obtain a bachelor's degree from Harvard University; and 1-10 WHEREAS, Representative Davila has long been a leader in her 1-11 community; at the age of 14, she began working as a volunteer 1-12 Spanish tutor for officers in the Houston Police Department as a 1-13 means by which to improve relations between the department and the 1-14 city's Hispanic community; and 1-15 WHEREAS, She has embraced many worthy causes in the ensuing 1-16 years and has given generously of her time and energies to benefit 1-17 a host of local organizations, including the East End Area Chamber 1-18 of Commerce, the Child Abuse Prevention Network, the Boys and Girls 1-19 Clubs of Greater Houston, and Hispanic Women in Leadership; and 1-20 WHEREAS, Ms. Davila first became involved in state government 1-21 as a legislative aide in the office of State Representative Roman 1-22 Martinez, and she later served as an administrative assistant 1-23 before deciding to run for office herself as a member of the 73rd 1-24 Legislature; and 2-1 WHEREAS, Having made education and the overall needs of 2-2 children her greatest priorities, Ms. Davila has worked diligently 2-3 to advance these worthy goals and her legislative agenda reflects 2-4 her commitment through its advocacy of such important initiatives 2-5 as the Healthy Start/Healthy Families child abuse and neglect 2-6 prevention program, early childhood intervention programs in 2-7 schools, conflict resolution training to educate young people about 2-8 alternatives to violence, and parental involvement programs; and 2-9 WHEREAS, She also hopes to see increased educational 2-10 opportunities made available to Houston's youngest citizens and 2-11 shared this goal with her beloved brother, the late Jaime Davila; 2-12 when asked what she considers to be her greatest achievement, she 2-13 cites persuading the city of Houston to name one of its 2-14 predominately Hispanic elementary schools in her brother's honor; 2-15 and 2-16 WHEREAS, Though Ms. Davila is one of the youngest members of 2-17 the legislature, she is rapidly earning a name for herself and is a 2-18 valued member of the house human services and urban affairs 2-19 committees and the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars this 2-20 session; since first winning election to the house, Ms. Davila has 2-21 garnered the lasting regard of her constituents in District 145, 2-22 for she has served them with dedication and integrity throughout 2-23 her fine tenure; now, therefore, be it 2-24 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 74th Texas 2-25 Legislature hereby congratulate the Honorable Diana Davila on the 2-26 recent occasion of her birthday and extend to her sincere best 2-27 wishes for continued happiness and success throughout the coming 3-1 years; and, be it further 3-2 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 3-3 prepared for Ms. Davila as an expression of high regard by the 3-4 Texas House of Representatives.