LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION honoring William and Matilda Davenport upon the
occasion of their designation for special recognition by the Community
Foundations of the Hudson Valley

WHEREAS, Individuals who give of their time and energies and serve the
best interests of their communities are an asset beyond remuneration and
cannot be sufficiently extolled; and
WHEREAS, William and Matilda Davenport have given not only Of their
time and energies but also of their competence, intelligence and leader-
ship and consequently have been designated for special honor; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is justly proud to honor William and
Matilda Davenport upon the occasion of their designation for special
recognition by the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, to be
celebrated at its Annual Garden Party on Sunday, September 30, 2012, at
Mount Community in Esopus, New York; and
WHEREAS, William and Matilda Davenport have been called upon to
contribute their time and talents to countless civic and charitable
endeavors and have always given of themselves unstintingly; and
WHEREAS, William Davenport, a lifelong resident of Stone Ridge, joined
the family home heating business in 1959, and later became president and
CEO of Walter Davenport and Sons, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, He is co-owner and board chair of Heritagenergy, a petroleum
business based in the Hudson Valley; and
WHEREAS, A veteran of the United States Army and Army Reserve, William
Davenport is a graduate of Colgate University and the Owner-Manager
Program at Harvard Business School; and
WHEREAS, William Davenport has served as vice-chairman of the Stewart
Airport Commission and is a member of the Benton Bard Cemetery board of
trustees; he has also served on the boards of the City of Kingston Labo-
ratory, Friends of the Hudson Valley, and Benedictine Hospital and
currently chairs the hospital's Health Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Matilda Davenport was born in Kingston, New York; she is a
1961 graduate of Dumbarton College of Holy Cross in Washington, D.C. and
did graduate work at George Washington University; and
WHEREAS, She has also taken classes at Ulster Community College, SUNY
New Paltz, the University of Virginia and Harvard Business School; and
WHEREAS, Matilda Davenport has taught in the Washington, D.C. public
school system as well as schools in Kingston and Port Ewen; she also
served as human resource program coordinator at Ulster Community
College's Development Center for Business; and
WHEREAS, Matilda Davenport has served on the boards of the Community
Rehabilitation Center Foundation, the Senate House, Benedictine Hospi-
tal, Stone Ridge Library and the Junior League of Kingston; and
WHEREAS, She was president of the Stone Ridge Library board, the
Junior League and the Ulster Garden Club and served on the Marbletown
Historic Preservation Commission from 2004 to 2010; and
WHEREAS, William and Matilda Davenport were married in 1963, and they
have raised three sons; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the entire period of their community service, a
period of constructive involvement, William and Matilda Davenport have
stood constant in dignity, good grace and humor; and
WHEREAS, Rare indeed is the impressive dedication shown by individuals
for the benefit of others which William and Matilda Davenport have
displayed throughout their lives; and
WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that when individ-
uals of such noble aims and accomplishments are brought to our atten-

tion, they should be celebrated and recognized by all the citizens of
this great Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
honor William and Matilda Davenport upon the occasion of their desig-
nation for special recognition by the Community Foundations of the
Hudson Valley; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to William and Matilda Davenport.