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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to recognize the accomplishments
4of local communities and their commitment to serving their
5fellow citizens; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Rotary Club of Joliet will celebrate its 100th
7anniversary on August 3, 2013; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Rotary International, the world's first service
9organization, was founded in Chicago in 1905 and has since
10grown to include 33,000 clubs and 1.3 million members; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Rotary International focuses locally and globally
12on the goals of peace and conflict resolution, disease
13prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and
14child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and
15community development, with a special focus on the eradication
16of polio from the earth; and
 
17    WHEREAS, What was to become the Rotary Club of Joliet in
181913, began as the Study Club in 1910; the Study Club's purpose
19was to study business building, efficiency, and character
20development; the club's president was John McGuire and the
21members were John P. Kelly, Edmund H. Lennon, Thomas P. Lennon,

 

 

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1Maurice F. Lennon, Joseph McGlynn, Michael J. Ryan, Thomas S.
2Stoll, Robert P. Kiep, Ambrose Kiep, George Lennon, A.F.
3Bannon, James F. Hebert, James Ley, Nick J. Freis, and F. B.
4Murphy; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Joliet Rotary was accepted into membership at the
6Rotary International Convention held in Buffalo, New York and
7chartered on August 1, 1913, becoming the first Rotary Club
8from a city of less than 75,000 population; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Noon luncheons were started on September 22, 1914,
10in the Hobbs Cafe; since then, Joliet Rotary has held its
11luncheon meetings in the Universalist Church parlors, Snapps
12Cafeteria, the Chamber of Commerce, Masonic Temple, the YMCA,
13the Woodruff Hotel, the Louis Joliet Hotel, and the Louis
14Joliet Renaissance Center; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Since 1913, the Joliet Rotary Club, by
16recommendations to Rotary International, has ceded territory
17as well as helped establish new territories by starting Rotary
18Clubs in Ottawa (1914), Morris (1915), Kankakee (1915),
19Streator (1919), LaSalle (1920), DeKalb (1921), Aurora (1923),
20Manteno (1937), Wilmington (1938), and Lockport (1966); the
21Club has produced four District Governors, J. Stanley Brown
22(1918-1919), Rev. Henry E. Rompel (1923-1924), Ralph E. Morgan
23(1957-1958), and Robert E. Leckrone (1986-1987); and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 1987, Rotary International extended membership
2to women in the United States; at the Conference on Legislation
3held in Singapore on January 23, 1989, Resolution 8954 was
4presented by Joliet Rotarian Bob Leckrone, thus officially
5admitting women into Rotary International; the first women
6inducted into Joliet Rotary were Mary Jane Broncato, Ruth
7Calvert Fitzgerald, Carolyn Healy, and Sister Dismas Janssen;
8and
 
9    WHEREAS, Joliet Rotary purchased uniforms and instruments
10for the start of the Joliet Township High School band, which
11won State Championships in 1924, 1925, and 1926, National
12Championships in 1926, 1927, 1928, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1938, and
131940, and gave Joliet the nickname, "City of Champions"; and
 
14    WHEREAS, In 1914, Vaughn Brooks, the second president of
15Joliet Rotary, was responsible for founding the Joliet Chamber
16of Commerce; and
 
17    WHEREAS, In 1915, Joliet Rotary procured Higginbotham
18Woods for city park property; in 1917, during World War I,
19Joliet Rotary equipped the "Dandy First" soldiers with shoes
20and other equipment while they were training at Dellwood Park;
21in 1930, Joliet Rotary sponsored the first Boy Scout camp at
22Morris, which is still in existence; later, Joliet Rotary

 

 

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1sponsored the first Girl Scout camp at Custer Park; and
 
2    WHEREAS, From 1984 to 1988, over $250,000 and in-kind
3contributions were donated to build the Rotary Sports Complex
4at the Galowich YMCA on the west side of Joliet; in 1989,
5Joliet Rotary established a $75,000 endowment fund to maintain
6the YMCA Sports Field; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 1990, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to Habitat
8for Humanity to construct two homes; in 1991, Joliet Rotary
9donated $30,000 to Will-Grundy Free Medical Clinic for an
10endowment fund for medications; in 1992, Joliet Rotary donated
11$26,100 to D-FY-IT drug testing program for local high schools,
12in 1993, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to purchase equipment to
13establish a handicapped playground for Easter Seals; in 1994,
14Joliet Rotary purchased a 15-passenger van for the Salvation
15Army; in 1995, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to help refurbish
16facilities for an abused women's shelter; in 1996, Joliet
17Rotary donated $32,000 to Easter Seals for furnishing a
18supervisory group home; in 1997, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000
19to United Cerebral Palsy Park for specialized playground
20equipment; in 1998, Joliet Rotary donated a total of $30,000
21for endowed scholarships to be awarded annually by Joliet
22Junior College, Lewis University, and the University of St.
23Francis; in 1999, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 for funding of
24the Will-Grundy Rotary Dental Clinic; in 2000, Joliet Rotary

 

 

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1donated $27,400 to Morningstar Mission Ministries for their
2kitchen renovation project; in 2001, Joliet Rotary divided a
3$30,000 donation to the Salvation Army for renovation of their
4kitchen and to the Will County Humane Society for renovation of
5their facility; in 2002, Joliet Rotary donated a total of
6$30,000 to the Rotary College Scholarship Program for the
7scholarship fund established at Lewis University, University
8of St. Francis, and Joliet Junior College; in 2003, Joliet
9Rotary donated $30,000 to Joliet Hospice for the construction
10of a patient room; in 2004, Joliet Rotary donated $14,000 to
11Lamb's Fold toward a new shower room for the women and
12children; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Thousands of dictionaries are provided by Joliet
14Rotary to Joliet public and private school 4th graders each
15year; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Countless additional donations of time, talent,
17and treasure have benefitted the local Joliet community as well
18as Rotary beneficiaries around the world; therefore, be it
 
19    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
20NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
21we congratulate the current and past members of the Rotary Club
22of Joliet on the occasion of the club's 100th anniversary and
23thank the members for providing 100 years of service above

 

 

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1self; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3presented to the Rotary Club of Joliet, Illinois, USA as a
4symbol of our esteem and respect.