TITLE: Recognizing Rick Watson on the occasion of his retirement from the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts.

SUMMARY: Recognizing Rick Watson on the occasion of his retirement from the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas is pleased to recognize Rick Watson, who is retiring from the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts on January 31, 2013; and WHEREAS, Rick began his illustrious career with the state in 1995, when he served as chief of network services for the Texas Workers' Compensation Commission; he went on to become the mainframe network programmer before taking the helm of the newly formed Information Security Division and effectively ushering the commission into the Internet age; and WHEREAS, After a brief hiatus in the private sector, Rick joined the comptroller's office as a mainframe network programmer; he then switched to network infrastructure support and played a pivotal role in creating and managing Procedures, Policies, Standards, and Guidelines; he managed the new Voice over Internet Protocol application as the agency was rolling out its massive Communications Modernization project; and WHEREAS, Rick was also heavily involved with building the network in the new Data Center, and he was vital in testing the agency's new Disaster Recovery program; and WHEREAS, This exemplary employee spent his final two years at the agency assisting with information technology security and formalizing the network Procedures, Policies, Standards, and Guidelines; he also managed the complex Tripwire application and performed network scans and monitored more than 200 servers for unauthorized file changes; and WHEREAS, A man of many talents, Rick Watson has earned the esteem of his colleagues and supervisors at the Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts; his expertise, dedication, and generosity of spirit will be missed long after he has retired; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 83rd Legislature, hereby commend Rick Watson on his many years of exceptional state service and extend to him best wishes for the retirement years ahead; and, be it further RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for him as an expression of high regard from the Texas Senate. Watson President of the Senate I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on February 4, 2013.