| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, Eric Cooper, president and CEO of the San Antonio |
|
|
Food Bank, has been recognized by Feeding America as its 2011 |
|
|
Executive Director of the Year; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Feeding America is a leading domestic hunger relief |
|
|
organization; through its network of more than 200 member food |
|
|
banks, it provides nutritious food to approximately 37 million |
|
|
Americans each year, including 14 million children and 3 million |
|
|
seniors; its Executive Director of the Year Award is presented to a |
|
|
director of a member food bank who has significantly contributed to |
|
|
the effort to feed the hungry in his or her community; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In his role as head of the San Antonio Food Bank, Mr. |
|
|
Cooper leads an organization that feeds more than 58,000 people |
|
|
every week in an area that includes Bexar County and 15 surrounding |
|
|
counties; since he assumed his present post in 2001, the SAFB has |
|
|
increased its distribution of food and grocery products from 14 |
|
|
million to more than 43 million pounds and boosted its operating |
|
|
budget by over 769 percent; Mr. Cooper has also overseen a $10 |
|
|
million capital campaign that enabled the SAFB to move into a new |
|
|
facility to better serve the community; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Under Mr. Cooper's guidance, the SAFB has added new |
|
|
services and programs, increased public awareness of its mission |
|
|
and the problem of hunger in the community, and expanded its team of |
|
|
employees, volunteers, and donors; among the initiatives |
|
|
undertaken have been the creation of a major food stamp outreach |
|
|
program, the establishment of the Community Kitchen, which feeds |
|
|
homeless women and children while training unemployed and |
|
|
underemployed individuals in culinary, job, and life skills, and |
|
|
the securing of grants that have made it possible to hire full-time |
|
|
nutritionists to educate partner agencies and their clients about |
|
|
obesity and other health problems caused by poor diet; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, During Mr. Cooper's tenure, the SAFB has maintained |
|
|
a four-star rating from Charity Navigator, and it has received the |
|
|
Feeding America Food Bank of the Year Award; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, In addition to his work with the SAFB, Mr. Cooper |
|
|
serves as president of the board of directors for the Texas Food |
|
|
Bank Network and as a member of both the Mayor's Fitness Task Force |
|
|
and the Feeding America national task force on nutrition and food |
|
|
sourcing; he has also co-chaired the Mayor's Task Force for Hunger |
|
|
and Homelessness and helped launch a national fund-raising effort, |
|
|
the Campaign for a Hunger-Free America; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Mr. Cooper is a graduate of the University of Utah, |
|
|
where he earned degrees in sociology, social work, and business |
|
|
administration; before he was hired to lead the SAFB, he served as |
|
|
product donations manager for the North Texas Food Bank from 1999 to |
|
|
2001 and as deputy director for the Utah Food Bank from 1993 to |
|
|
1999; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Eric Cooper and his wife, Erinn, are the proud |
|
|
parents of five children, Madison, Morgan, Gabriel, Elijah, and |
|
|
Meredith; in his spare time, Mr. Cooper volunteers as a Scout Master |
|
|
for the Boy Scouts of America; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, An accomplished administrator, Eric Cooper has |
|
|
provided inspiring leadership to the San Antonio Food Bank and |
|
|
contributed immeasurably to the work of alleviating and ending |
|
|
hunger in South Texas, and he is indeed worthy of this prestigious |
|
|
accolade; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby congratulate Eric Cooper on his selection as the |
|
|
2011 Executive Director of the Year by Feeding America and extend to |
|
|
him sincere best wishes for continued success; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for Mr. Cooper as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
|
|
House of Representatives. |