Mother's Day
I'm the son of Linda Whitehouse. My Dad Floyd and my sisters Stephanie and Heather are here. My other sister, Anne, is resting somewhere in south Florida - she just had a baby this weekend - Linda's 8th grand-baby. I think she may hit double digits eventually.
We're all here to celebrate Linda's retirement from the world of corporate accounting - I guess it's really just retirement from this fine company. She'll be keeping plenty busy with the Whitehouse Cattle Company but I think the returns might be slightly less complex for the farm than for oil and gas holdings and the variety of related companies - all the things she's been working on for the last 21ish years.
I have a lot of memories of this company. I spent quite a few days during busy season sitting in the Bass offices entertaining myself on an old Tandy computer, playing DOS games. Those days probably played some part to making me the computer geek that I am - so thank you.
I learned that the little black button under the desk shouldn't be pressed unless you want armed visitors to come and have an embarrassing little chat with you. I got to know some of you at office parties at my house in Weatherford and at company picnics where we had gunslingers and horse-back rides and live music and barbecue.
When I got married, I brought my wife Dawn up to meet you all. She had to meet the extended family. When we found out that we were having triplets, the people at this company were excited for us and when our babies were born 9 weeks early and placed in the NICU, you encouraged us, cared for us and prayed for us. I know that if I have warm memories as I look back on the time my mom has spent with this company she must remember her time here with great fondness and great pride.
It is certain that she has left an indelible mark on this company. She's always had a knack for seeing what needed to be done and set herself to the task of making sure things got taken care of. She's always believed in getting her hands dirty. She's added rooms onto our houses, replaced fixtures, painted, laid tile... Her daddy was a carpenter; a roofer. I guess it's always been part of her personality to have a vision, set a plan of action and work to complete the process.
I know that she has a vision for what lies ahead. Linda is not retiring to the farm to rest and watch the cows graze - she's embarking on her next adventure. She has in front of her a blank canvas and a picture is starting to take shape. She'll spend her time putting paint to canvas. She'll go camping and hiking and site-seeing with her husband and best friend. She'll attend most of the soccer games her grandsons play in and she'll attend more princess parties than she can count (and she's an accountant so you know that's a lot of princess parties). She'll plant new gardens and may eventually cover the entire farm in sandstone pathways.
Figuratively, she'll spend time putting paint to canvas and literally she'll be continuing to explore her artistic side. Last month, my wife's friend, Renee, came over to our house from Boston. She found one of Mom's paintings hung prominently in our living room and said, "only in Texas would you find someone with a painting of an oil rig in their home." Just like you see the work of her hand as you walk through my house and see the amazing paintings hung on my walls, and you see her influence in the personalities, creativity and work ethic of her children and grandchildren, I know that, for years to come, you will walk around the halls at Bass and see her hand in the makings of organization, processes and quality.
Mom, congratulations on everything you have accomplished here. You leave a legacy, a master work. You now move your focus away from the department and away from the company and onto things of more personal significance. We look forward to hearing about and seeing what you do next - whatever you decide to focus on, we know it will be remarkable.
I love you - congratulations!