HR0526 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0526 LRB097 13533 KXB 58103 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate the members of the Bloomington Kiwanis Club on the 90th anniversary of the organization; and

WHEREAS, In the late spring of 1921 a group of men headed by Kaywin Kennedy, A. L. Beyer, and C. W. Frey, among others, called their friends and associates together to form a Bloomington Kiwanis Club; the group, which met at the Illinois House Hotel, grew to more than 50 members during the summer; and

WHEREAS, Soon after their formation the group applied to Kiwanis International to be chartered as an official club; the charter was granted on September 21, 1921; the charter was delivered to Bloomington on November 14, 1921 by the sponsoring Kiwanis Club of Springfield; and

WHEREAS, In 1931, the Bloomington Pantagraph, under the leadership of Kiwanian Reverend Breen, began sponsoring Camp Limberlost, a camp for area children; by 1932, Kiwanians were increasingly involved in the project and in 1934 the Kiwanis Club became a co-sponsor; in 1940, The Bloomington Kiwanis Club became the sole sponsor of the project; for more than 75 years this project has continued and is now the longest running continuous project in all of Kiwanis International. It is also the oldest residential camp in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In 1932, The Bloomington Kiwanis Club, in association with the Bloomington Pantagraph, developed a Community Gardens project in which several acres of land south of town were loaned by land owners to plant vegetable gardens to help feed a community suffering from the deprivations of the Great Depression; the project provided work for unemployed men in the community and also provided a bounteous harvest to feed the hungry; and

WHEREAS, The Bloomington Kiwanis Club has developed many fundraisers to help support its many projects, including the annual Peanut Days, the annual Pancake Days, Kiwanis Cheese sales, and its newest fundraiser, the Kiwanis Mother's Day Flower Sale, which has been a popular event on the first weekend in May; and

WHEREAS, In 2011, the Bloomington Kiwanis Club celebrates 90 years of service to this community; over the years it has partnered with many agencies in the community to help make Bloomington a better place to live, work, and grow; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the members of the Bloomington Kiwanis Club on this momentous anniversary and wish them the best for years to come; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Bloomington Kiwanis Club as a symbol of our respect and esteem.