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Friends
and associates gathered at the Lubbock County Club on
Friday, October
22nd to honor
and acknowledge the
significant contributions that
Senator Robert Duncan has made to our community through
his community vision
and leadership.
Senate
service, 1996 to
present:
 Senator
Robert Duncan has
been a leader in the Texas Senate since 1996, when he
won a special election to represent District 28. During
three legislative sessions, he has written bills to
protect fairness in the legal system, ensure quality
education, and maintain Texans’ way of life.
Most
significantly for this area, the Senator worked on
legislation to redesign the state’s defunct boll
weevil eradication program and he wrote legislation to
soften the blow to communities affected by the Federal
Military Base Closure Act. In 1999, he became an active
member of the Senate Finance Committee, a powerful body
charged with handling the state’s
multi-billion-dollar budget. While serving on both the
finance committee and as a member of the Senate
Committee on Border Affairs, Duncan smoothed strained
relations between the Texas Tech University campuses at
Lubbock and El Paso over funding of the Health Sciences
Center in El Paso.
To
assist those fighting juvenile crime and those
vulnerable to it, Duncan drafted a measure to create a
statewide gang database and permit public school
campuses to stay open longer, giving children an
alternative to gang activity after classes.
His
efforts during 1999 earned Duncan a spot on the Texas
Comptroller’s e-Texas Commission, a group that has
since developed methods of making state government
accessible to citizens on the Internet. He was also
honorably mentioned by Texas Monthly magazine in its
"Best Legislators" awards.
In
2001, Duncan was responsible for legislation to ensure
that the right people are punished for the crimes
they’ve been convicted. Gov. Rick Perry ordered the
post-conviction DNA testing bill on a fast-track and
signed it into law once it passed the House and Senate.
As
part of his commitment to helping the most vulnerable
of Texans - the elderly and the very young - Duncan
lowered prescription drug costs to seniors and found
money for children’s health insurance. He also
shepherded through the Legislature a bill to protect
young people traveling in pick-up trucks.
Duncan
was a key negotiator in creating the Texas Excellence
Fund, an account that provides additional research
dollars to state universities. The money promotes
research at Texas’ top public universities and helps
those schools attract federal dollars.
Following
the 2001 session of the Legislature, Duncan’s
prodigious work earned him a spot among Texas Monthly
magazine’s "Top Ten Legislators," a
prestigious list drafted following each legislative
session.
He
was also recognized for his efforts by many other
groups from across the state: the Texas Public
Employees Association named him the group’s
Legislator of the Year; for a second time, Texas
Monthly listed him as one of the state’s 10 best
legislators; the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill
named him Outstanding Senator; several state school
organizations named him a "Champion of
Children"; and he was recognized by the Texans for
Lawsuit Reform and the Texas Association of Groundwater
Districts.
Most
recently, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has named Duncan to
the Legislative Budget Board, the Joint Interim
Committee on Higher Education, the Legislative
Oversight Committee for Higher Education, Select
Committee on Water Policy, Subcommittee on the Lease of
State Water Rights, and the Select Committee on
Workers’ Compensation.
Duncan
is chairman of the Senate Committee on State Affairs,
and he is a member of the Senate committees on Finance,
Natural Resources and Jurisprudence.
House
service, 1992 to 1995:
Elected
to the Texas House in 1992, Duncan co-wrote a 1995 tort
reform package that prevented attorneys from unfairly
shopping for favorable courts to hear their cases. The
savings in liability costs saves Texans’ billions of
dollars. He also crafted legislation to increase the
availability of insurance to people in under-served
parts of the state and protect Texans from insurance
fraud.
In
recognition of his efforts in the
Texas House, Duncan was honored as "House Freshman
of the Year" by his legislative colleagues;
"Republican Freshman of the Year" by the
Republican Caucus; and "Legislator of the
Year" by the National Republican Legislators
Association. Texas Monthly recognized him as a
"Rising Star" in the Legislature.
Personal:
Duncan
has practiced law for more than 20 years. He earned a
law degree from the Texas Tech University School of Law
in 1981, and joined the Lubbock law firm of Crenshaw,
Dupree and Milam, where he is now a partner.
While
completing an undergraduate degree in agriculture
economics at Tech, Duncan served as student body
president and as a member of the Phi Delta Theta
Fraternity and the Texas Tech Athletic Council. He has
been named a Distinguished Alumnus of Texas Tech
University at-large and of the College of Agricultural
Sciences and Natural Resources.
Duncan
volunteers with the American Heart Association,
American Diabetes Association, Boy Scout Troop 157,
South Plains Food Bank, and he teaches Sunday school at
First United Methodist Church.
He
is married to Lynne Stebbins Duncan of Dallas, and has
two children, Lindsey and Matthew. The family lives in
Lubbock
Many
thanks to the following donors to the 2004 Hero’s Luncheon
honoring Senator Duncan for his contribution to our
community:
Presenting
Sponsors
City
Bank
Texas
Farm Bureau
University
Medical Center
Heroes
Lubbock
Avalanche Journal
Lubbock
Apartment Association
McAfee
Mortgage
McDougal
Companies
Physicians
Network Svcs., Inc.
Price
Communications Group
KCBD
NewsChannel 11
Gold
Sponsors
American
State Bank
Covenant
Health System
Cox
Communications
Lubbock
Power & Light
Silver
Sponsors
Crenshaw,
Dupree & Milam
Crofoot
Cattle Co.
Field,
Manning, Stone, Hawthorne & Aycock, P.C.
Plains
Capital Bank
State
National Bancshares, Inc.
State
National Bank
Texas
Cattle Feeders Assoc.
Texas
Tech University
Mr.
Mike McDougal
Mr.
Andrew Taylor
Bronze
Sponsors
Caprock
Home Health Services, Inc.
Caraway,
McMahon & Company
Center
for Orthopedic Surgery
First
Ag Credit
First
Bank & Trust Co.
Hillco
Partners, L.L.C.
Lubbock
Economic Development Alliance
Lubbock
Land Co.
McCleskey,
Harriger, Brazill & Graf, LLP
McWhorter,
Cobb & Johnson
NTS
Communications
Physicians
Surgicenter
Plains
Cotton Growers, Inc.
SBC
Foundation
South
Plains College
Texas
& Southwest Cttle Raisers Assoc.
Texas
Independent Ginners Assoc.
Texas
Land Title Association
TTU
Law School Foundation
The
Midland Company Foundation
Wayland
Baptist University
Wilkerson
Storage
Ms.
Robena Duncan
Mr.
Jerry Harris
Mr.
& Mrs. Ricky Scott
Dr.
& Mrs. Ed Wentz
Other
Contributors
Dr.
Jay Adkins
Mr.
& Mrs. Lennis Baker
Mr.
& Mrs. W. F. Bennett
Mr.
& Mrs. Joe V. Boerner
Mr.
& Mrs. Brent Brown
Mr.
& Mrs. Bill Carter
Mr.
& Mrs. Scott Cooksey
Mrs.
Bobbe Crawford
Mrs.
Lou Dunn Diekemper
Mr.
& Mrs. Jim Earsley
Mr.
Clint Formby
Dr.
& Mrs. Ted Forsythe
Mr.
& Mrs. Larry Fryer
Ms.
Barbara Gonzales
Dr.
& Mrs. Donald Haragan
Mrs.
Connie Hindman
Mr.
& Mrs. Choc Hutcheson
Dr.
& Mrs. Jay B. Jensen
Mr.
Philip W. Johnson
Mrs.
Regina Johnston
Mr.
& Mrs. Harold Jones
Mr.
& Mrs. Delwin Jones
Mrs.
Marjorie Kastman
Mr.
& Mrs. Arnold Maeker
Mr.
Mark W. Malone
Mr.
& Mrs. Scott Malouf
Mr.
Jay Matsler
Mrs.
Myrtle McDonald
Mr.
& Mrs. Joe McKay
Mr.
& Mrs. David Miller
Mr.
& Mrs. James Oler
Mr.
Glenn Patton
Mr.
Lee Pennington
Mr.
Keith Reeger
Mrs.
Sharleen Rhoads
Mr.
& Mrs. Frank Stogner
Mr.
& Mrs. Jack F. Strong, Sr.
Mr.
& Mrs. Mark Thompson
Mrs.
Louise H. Underwood
Mr.
Terry Williams
Chapman
Harvey Architects, Inc.
Lubbock
Black Chamber of Entrepreneurs
Lubbock
Chamber of Commerce
Lubbock
Regional MHMR Center
South
Plains Food Bank
Splawn
& Simpson Law Offices
Texas
Agricultural Cooperative Council
Texas
Broiler Council
Texas
Cotton Association
Texas
Egg Council
Texas
Turkey Federation
The
Scioli Group
Tony
Privett Communications
Xcel
Energy
YWCA
of Lubbock
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