TITLE: Congratulating Dr. Herbert H. Ortega on his receipt of the 2011 Distinguished Service Award from the Rotary Club of El Paso.

SUMMARY: Congratulating Dr. Herbert H. Ortega on his receipt of the 2011 Distinguished Service Award from the Rotary Club of El Paso.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, In recognition of the outstanding efforts of a truly exceptional Texan, the Rotary Club of El Paso honored Dr. Herbert H. Ortega with its Distinguished Service Award on June 23, 2011; and WHEREAS, A native of Bogota, Colombia, Herbert Hernando Ortega has lived mostly in the United States since the age of nine, spending his formative years in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and becoming a U.S. citizen in 1957; he served in the Ohio National Guard until being honorably discharged in 1959, and he earned degrees in the social sciences, economics, public administration, political science, and medicine; and WHEREAS, Dr. Ortega's career has included resident assignments in New York, Ohio, Tennessee, Washington, D.C., and Central America; during a one-year assignment in El Paso to assess health program opportunities for the Pan American Health Organization, a division of the World Health Organization, he decided to make the city his home; he became the chief of a field office of PAHO and the executive director of the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission, working to integrate health care approaches among different levels of government and engaging the private sector to provide support; and WHEREAS, The many noteworthy initiatives Dr. Ortega has overseen during his career include projects addressing neonatal and child care, rabies, tuberculosis, cleft lip and palate, and HIV and AIDS; he has worked with numerous institutions and groups, such as the Health Officers Association of California, the Carnegie Corporation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, among others; he is now the CEO of InterAmerica Management of Mexico; and WHEREAS, Dr. Ortega has lectured extensively on economic, political, social, and health conditions affecting the United States and Mexico; moreover, he has been a chief researcher on a number of studies and a member of many task forces, and he taught health care administration and the history of economic thought at New Mexico State University for a dozen years; his accomplishments have been recognized with resolutions from the Texas Department of State Health Services, the California Legislature, and government officials from the United States and Mexico; in addition, he received an award from the Visiting Nurse Association of El Paso; and WHEREAS, An active member of Rotary International, Dr. Ortega has traveled to Colombia and Central America in behalf of the organization and was instrumental in promoting its involvement in efforts to eradicate polio worldwide; he currently serves as the president of the Rotary Club of El Paso; and WHEREAS, Dr. Herbert H. Ortega is a dedicated leader whose commitment to his profession and to public health has made a positive difference in the lives of many people in the United States, Mexico, and around the world, and he is most deserving of this prestigious honor; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby congratulate Dr. Herbert H. Ortega on his receipt of the 2011 Distinguished Service Award from the Rotary Club of El Paso 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 Dr. Ortega as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Margo Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 255 was adopted by the House on June 28, 2011, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House