[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 24108]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING J. ROGER WILLIAMS AS TEXAS' 105TH SECRETARY OF STATE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 18, 2004

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, on Wednesday, November 17, 2004, Texas 
Governor Rick Perry named J. Roger Williams, a Weatherford businessman, 
Texas' 105th Secretary of State.
  A nationally respected businessman, Roger Williams will be a powerful 
statesman. Mr. Williams will represent Texas entities both home and 
abroad by promoting all our great state has to offer. The Secretary of 
State serves as liaison for the governor on border and Mexican Affairs. 
As a dedicated civic leader and generous philanthropist, Mr. Williams 
comes well prepared for his new tenure as Texas' 105th Secretary of 
State.
  In addition to his duties representing Texas, Roger Williams will 
serve as the state's chief elections officer. The Office of Secretary 
of State also is the official repository for official and business 
records; publishes government rules and regulations; and attests to the 
governor's signature on official documents.
  Most recently, Mr. Williams served as Chairman of the Board of Roger 
Williams Automall in Weatherford and Vestry Financial Corporation of 
Fort Worth. From 1974 to 1995 Williams was President and Chief 
Executive Officer of Jack Williams Automall, the multiple-line 
dealership founded by his father, Jack Williams, in 1958.
  A former professional baseball player, Roger Williams played for the 
Atlanta Braves farm team from 1971 to 1974, and he owned and operated 
the San Antonio Brewers professional baseball club from 1972 to 1975. 
He also served as assistant head coach and later head coach for the 
baseball team at Texas Christian University, his alma mater.
  Roger Williams has been recognized nationally for his business 
acumen, as a 1981 inductee into the Automobile Hall of Fame and as the 
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Businessman of the Year in 1984. He was 
named by Time magazine as Automobile Dealer of the Year in 1985 and by 
Sports Illustrated as Import Automobile Dealer of the Year in 1986. 
Lockheed Martin Management Association named Williams Manager of the 
Year in 1977.
  I welcome J. Roger Williams to his new role as Texas Secretary of 
State and extend my congratulations to Mr. Williams and his family, his 
wife Patty and their two daughters, Jaclyn and Sabrina.

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