093_HR0254

                                     LRB093 11627 KEF 15061 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS,  The  members   of   the   Illinois   House   of
 3    Representatives  congratulate Connie Parker on her retirement
 4    as the Centralia Clean and Green Coordinator; and

 5        WHEREAS, Connie Parker is the wife of Jack Parker and the
 6    mother  of  four  children,  Michael,  Shannon,  Crosby,  and
 7    Jessica; and

 8        WHEREAS, Mrs. Parker has been involved with the Centralia
 9    Clean  and  Green  since  1985;  she   is   responsible   for
10    implementing the Clean and Green program (The 3 R's - Reduce,
11    Reuse, and Recycle) in the Centralia School System; and

12        WHEREAS,  Mrs.  Parker  has  worked  with well over 1,000
13    volunteers to not only  teach  but  carry  out  the  task  of
14    physically  picking  up  "trash";  she  was  instrumental  in
15    organizing the Neighborhood Pick-Up which helps neighborhoods
16    get  rid  of  trash that the City garbage collection will not
17    accept; this program has grown to be greatly  appreciated  by
18    many of the citizens of Centralia; and

19        WHEREAS,  Because  of  her  efforts,  Centralia Clean and
20    Green  received  first  place  from  National  Keep  American
21    Beautiful in the first  three  years  of  Clean  and  Green's
22    existence;  it  was  the  first  program  to be recognized as
23    outstanding by Keep Illinois Beautiful; the  Centralia  Clean
24    and  Green  program  has received the St. Mary's Madonna Club
25    Award for community service; and

26        WHEREAS, Mrs. Parker has been the recipient of the "Woman
27    of the Year" award given by the Canton-Madison County Chamber
28    of  Commerce  in  Mississippi,  and  she  also  received  the
29    Centralia Business  and  Professional  "Woman  of  the  Year"
30    award; and

31        WHEREAS,  Mrs.  Parker  also helped the City of Centralia
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11627 KEF 15061 r
 1    obtain and keep the status of TreeCity USA; the City has been
 2    honored  through  the  Governor's  Home  Town  Award  Program
 3    because of her hard work and dedication; and

 4        WHEREAS, Mrs. Parker is the  midwest  representative  for
 5    the  National  Keep  America Beautiful; she helped coordinate
 6    activities to mark the 75th anniversary of women's  suffrage;
 7    she  serves  on  the United Fund Board; she has served on the
 8    St.  Mary's  Hospital  Development  Council,  the   Centralia
 9    Chamber of Commerce Board (serving six years as Chairwoman of
10    the  Ambassadors);  she  is  a  blood drive volunteer for the
11    Centralia Chapter of the American Red Cross, a volunteer  for
12    the  Centralia  Community Benevolent Association food pantry,
13    and a bell ringer for the Salvation Army; she has also been a
14    Tri Chi sponsor and May Fete assistant; and

15        WHEREAS, Mrs. Parker also served on  the  Centralia  Code
16    Enforcement  Advisory  Committee,  the  City  Tree Board, the
17    Centralia Parks Advisory Committee, the Marion  County  Solid
18    Waste  Committee, Project Pride, and the INC business awards;
19    and

20        WHEREAS, Mrs. Parker is a member of the Clinton Co. Solid
21    Waste Advisory Committee and she helped to organize Clean and
22    Green  programs  in  Mt.  Vernon,  Carlyle,  and  Carbondale;
23    therefore, be it

24        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
25    NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
26    we congratulate Connie Parker on her  retirement  after  many
27    years  of dedication and service to the people of the City of
28    Centralia; and be it further

29        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
30    presented  to  Connie  Parker as an expression of our respect
31    and esteem.