House Bill 9207

    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HR 9207

        By Representative Harrington






  1                         House Resolution

  2         A resolution recognizing Edmond Wendell Horton

  3         for his many contributions to the residents of

  4         DeSoto County.

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  6         WHEREAS, Edmond Wendell Horton was born in Lake City

  7  and thus began what was to become a fascinating life of

  8  dedication to agriculture in Florida, and

  9         WHEREAS, as a very young man on the family farm in Fort

10  White, Edmond Wendell Horton managed the hand-powered pump

11  that watered the family livestock; in Jennings, he hoed the

12  turpentine woods; and, in Kathleen and Lake Alfred, he tended

13  the orange groves, and

14         WHEREAS, upon graduation from high school in Bell,

15  where he had served as president of Future Farmers of America,

16  Edmond Wendell Horton was awarded a scholarship by the State

17  Legislature to attend the University of Florida majoring in

18  agriculture, while, in order to attend school, he taught at

19  Trenton and Lake Butler High Schools, worked at a poultry

20  laboratory, and harvested watermelons during the summer, all

21  the while continuing his involvement in Future Farmers of

22  America, which he served as president of the collegiate

23  chapter, and

24         WHEREAS, Edmond Wendell Horton began his career in

25  agriculture as a vocational agriculture teacher at Anthony

26  High School in Ocala, and, after having reentered the

27  University of Florida and earning a master's degree in

28  agriculture, he joined the Federal Land Bank as a land

29  appraiser, serving from Pasco County southward, during which

30  time he established a citrus grove near Plant City, today one

31  of the few remaining groves north of Interstate 4, and later,

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HR 9207

    581-140A-99






  1  as ranch manager and assistant to the owner, he joined in the

  2  operation of Bright Hour Ranch, one of DeSoto County's premier

  3  ranches, and

  4         WHEREAS, over the years, Edmond Wendell Horton has been

  5  deeply involved in community and civic affairs, including

  6  participation as a member of the boards of DeSoto Memorial

  7  Hospital, the Sun Bank, and the DeSoto County School

  8  Foundation; a member of the DeSoto County Commission and the

  9  DeSoto County Cattlemen's Association; a 30-year member, past

10  president, and state director of the DeSoto Farm Bureau; and a

11  member of the DeSoto First Baptist Church, the Gideons, the

12  Shriners, and the Masons, NOW, THEREFORE,

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14  Be It Resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of

15  Florida:

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17         That the House of Representatives hereby commends

18  Edmond Wendell Horton for his many contributions to the

19  residents of DeSoto County and the State of Florida.

20         BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution

21  be presented to Edmond Wendell Horton as a tangible token of

22  the sentiments expressed herein.

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