Bill Text: TX HCR76 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Designating Poteet as the official Strawberry Capital of Texas for a 10-year period beginning in 2015.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2015-06-17 - Signed by the Governor [HCR76 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HCR76-Enrolled.html
| H.C.R. No. 76 | ||
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| WHEREAS, For nearly a century, the South Texas community of | ||
| Poteet has been known across the Lone Star State as a source of | ||
| delicious strawberries and as the host of a renowned annual | ||
| strawberry festival; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1911, city founders Henry and Ida Mumme began to | ||
| grow strawberries in their kitchen garden, and within 10 years, the | ||
| community's strawberry crop had become one of its most successful | ||
| products; local citizens invited residents of nearby San Antonio to | ||
| sample the town's strawberries in 1921, and the San Antonio | ||
| Express-News ran a story headlined "Crimson Berries Beckon Hungry | ||
| Tourists to Poteet"; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Building on the city's reputation, the Poteet Rotary | ||
| Club staged the first Poteet Strawberry Festival in April 1948, | ||
| hoping to provide an incentive for veterans of World War II to | ||
| return to area farms; the club also promoted more careful packing of | ||
| the crop so that each buyer would receive a uniform pint, flat, or | ||
| crate of berries; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Over the course of the past 67 years, the festival | ||
| has grown to become one of the signature springtime events in South | ||
| Texas, drawing 100,000 visitors and contributing up to $12 million | ||
| to the local economy each year; in addition to the strawberries | ||
| themselves, the popular gathering features live country music, a | ||
| rodeo, and a food show and auction; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The Poteet Strawberry Festival Association has also | ||
| presented college scholarships to deserving local students for the | ||
| past two decades; it currently gives away 10 scholarships each | ||
| year, while many of the more than 30 churches, schools, and civic | ||
| organizations that participate in the festival donate scholarships | ||
| as well; and | ||
| WHEREAS, This sweet, juicy, and colorful fruit is a delight | ||
| to behold and to taste, and for many years, the citizens of Poteet | ||
| have made the strawberry both a source of prosperity and a cause for | ||
| celebration; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby designate Poteet as the official Strawberry Capital of | ||
| Texas; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||
| 391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect | ||
| until the 10th anniversary of its designation. | ||
| Guillen | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 76 was adopted by the House on April | ||
| 30, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 138, Nays 1, 1 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 76 was adopted by the Senate on May | ||
| 26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: __________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
