WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was born on July 14, 1923; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was three years of age when his family moved to the City of Riverside in 1927; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione began his construction career working for a major lumber firm; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione then had a spectacular career as a local residential developer overseeing the construction of thousands of military base housing units on the west coast; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione started his family business, Tavaglione Construction and Development Inc., in 1960 in the City of Riverside with his younger brother, Louie Tavaglione; and

WHEREAS, Throughout his career of more than 60 years in the construction field, Joseph Tavaglione’s firm has built throughout the United States, primarily specializing in freestanding retail sit-down restaurants, fast food restaurants, and over 1,000 7-11 convenience stores and gas stations; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was the longest serving member in the history of the California Transportation Commission (CTC); and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was appointed to CTC in October of 2002 by Governor Gray Davis; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was reappointed to CTC by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005 and 2009, Governor Jerry Brown in 2013 and 2017, and Governor Gavin Newsom in 2021; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was honored to serve as chair of CTC; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione resigned from his seat on CTC on July 1, 2024, after over 21 years of distinguished service; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was a past chair of the California Contractors’ State License Board, where he served two terms; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione previously served as the President of the National Association of State Contractors Licensing Agencies; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione served two four-year terms on the City of Riverside’s Board of Public Utilities and as a member of the City of Riverside’s Planning Commission; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione served as the President of The Valley Group of the Inland Empire; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was a member of the Board of Directors of the Riverside Humane Society Pet Adoption Center, the Riverside County University Health System Medical Center Foundation, and the Children’s Spine Foundation; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was a member of the Foundation Board of Trustees for both the University of California, Riverside, and La Sierra University; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was proud to celebrate his 100th birthday on July 14, 2023; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione passed away peacefully at 101 years of age on August 1, 2024, surrounded by his family; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione will always be remembered for his decades of active participation in the community until his passing; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione lived an illustrious life of commitment and love for his family and community, which included directing billions of dollars, as a commissioner on CTC, to the County of Riverside for countless transportation improvements that bolstered the region’s population growth, grew the region’s economy, and supported mobility and access to opportunity for the region’s residents; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione was known for his expressed entreaties to “put people to work”; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione’s “put people to work” mission to create good paying jobs in the County of Riverside and throughout the state extended not only to his direction of vital state funding to needed transportation projects, but also to his penchant for bringing people together to solve seemingly unsolvable project delivery and policy challenges, with his personal involvement ensuring integrity and transparency throughout the process; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione’s immeasurable impact on countless transportation projects throughout the state included regionally significant projects, including the State Route 91/State Route 60/Interstate 215 Interchange Project, the State Route 91 High Occupancy Vehicle Project, the State Route 91 Corridor Improvement Project, the Interstate 15 Express Lanes Project, widenings of Interstate 215 across the Counties of San Bernardino and Riverside, the Metrolink 91/Perris Valley Line Project, and numerous railroad crossing grade separations; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione’s life was additionally marked by his entrepreneurial spirit and his service as President, and coowner with his son Jay, of Tavaglione Construction and Development Inc. until Joseph’s passing on August 1, 2024; and

WHEREAS, Joseph Tavaglione will be most remembered as a loving father, uncle, mentor, and friend to many; now, therefore, be it