where people like colleen barrett can climb the ladder from being an executive assistant to being one of the most powerful women in america as president of southwest airlines. and where a 13-year-old daughter of immigrants from mexico worked nights in a drapery factory, but never gave up on her dreams. and now, eva guzeman is the first latina justice on the supreme court of texas. [ applause ] and texas is where a mother from wichita falls, who like so many mothers chose to stay at home with her children and raise them and instill in them the values she thought were important. and although now today she is in heaven with my dad, she is no doubt proud that her timeless love and devotion inspired her son to become the 48th governor of texas. these stories are the promise of texas. these stories are not the exception because our state truly is exceptional. i am living proof that we live in a state where a young man's life can literally be broken in half and yet he can still rise up to be governor of this great state. as governor i will ensure that texas remains the state that ensures tha