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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Trailblazing real estate magnate and irrepressible |
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entrepreneur Ebby Halliday of Dallas is commemorating a remarkable |
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milestone in her life with the observance of her 100th birthday on |
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March 9, 2011; and |
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WHEREAS, Born Vera Lucille Koch in 1911, she later adopted |
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the name Ebby Halliday to better reflect her distinctive |
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personality; she was raised on a farm in Kansas, receiving her |
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education in a one-room schoolhouse and dreaming of becoming a |
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horseback rider in a circus; after graduating from high school in |
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Abilene, Kansas, she took a job selling hats with the Consolidated |
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Millinery Company in Kansas City, Missouri, and was quickly |
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promoted; her abilities soon led her to take on greater |
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responsibilities at stores in Omaha and then in Dallas, where she |
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arrived in 1938; and |
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WHEREAS, A manager for retailer W. A. Green for seven years, |
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Ms. Halliday saved money all the while, and before long had enough |
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to invest and subsequently to open her own hat shop; after a patron |
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complained of his difficulty in finding buyers for his innovative |
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insulated cement houses in a new development, she soon discovered |
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that her sales instincts made her a natural in the real estate |
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business; by dressing up the houses with attractive curtains, rugs, |
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and furniture, she sold all 52 of them in nine months and founded |
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Ebby Halliday Realtors in 1945; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Ms. Halliday's company is a renowned |
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operation with more than 1,600 agents who work out of 30 offices and |
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two luxury boutiques; the business is the largest independently |
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owned real estate brokerage company in Texas and one of the largest |
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in the country, and also handles leasing, property management, and |
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mortgage and personal insurance; consistently emphasizing service |
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to the client, the community, and the industry itself, the company |
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celebrated its 65th anniversary in 2010; and |
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WHEREAS, Ms. Halliday has shared her time and talents over |
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the years as president of the Women's Council of the National |
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Association of Realtors in 1956 and as the first woman president of |
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the North Dallas Chamber of Commerce in 1968; inducted into the |
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Texas Business Hall of Fame, the Texas Women's Hall of Fame, and the |
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Dallas Business Hall of Fame, she has received numerous awards and |
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recognitions, including the Ernst and Young Regional Entrepreneur |
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of the Year award and the Dallas Linz Award, and she was the first |
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recipient of the Ebby Halliday Executive Excellence Award given by |
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Executive Women International; and |
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WHEREAS, Her biography, Ebby Halliday: The First Lady of Real |
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Estate, was published in 2009, and a yellow rose was cultivated and
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named in her honor to commemorate her company's 60th anniversary |
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and her 94th birthday; an unofficial ambassador of goodwill for |
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Dallas during a period of extensive growth, she continues to be |
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committed to her goal of building a thriving sales force and |
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offering career opportunities to bright and motivated women; and |
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WHEREAS, Still active in her business, Ms. Halliday also |
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dedicates a great deal of her time to philanthropy and her |
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community; she is a strong supporter of the Foundation Fighting |
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Blindness, which she serves as a national trustee, and the Horatio |
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Alger Association, which awards scholarships to deserving young |
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people and is the beneficiary of the proceeds from her 100th |
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birthday gala; and |
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WHEREAS, Ms. Halliday married Maurice Acers in 1965, and the |
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couple enjoyed 28 years of fulfilling partnership until his passing |
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in 1993; she credits her extraordinary longevity to her mantra, |
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"Don't drink, don't smoke, don't retire," and she remains devoted to |
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her faith, to the Dallas Mavericks and Cowboys, and to her mission |
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to help countless Americans achieve their dream of homeownership; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The epitome of Dallas style, savvy, and can-do |
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spirit, Ebby Halliday has combined hard work, optimism, and |
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generosity to build a business and a life of outsize proportions, |
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and she has earned the lasting admiration of all who know her; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby honor the grande dame of Dallas real estate, |
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Ebby Halliday, on the occasion of her 100th birthday and extend to |
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her sincere best wishes for continued happiness; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for Ms. Halliday as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |
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Sheets |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 764 was adopted by the House on March |
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10, 2011, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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