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91_HR0988
LRB9115192RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives wish to express their sincere condolences to
4 the family and friends of Carey B. Maddox Preston, who
5 recently passed away; and
6 WHEREAS, Carey B. Maddox Preston was chosen from a large
7 group of well-qualified applicants as Alpha Kappa Alpha
8 Sorority's first employed officer; and
9 WHEREAS, Mrs. Preston, a native of Mississippi, spent her
10 secondary school years and college days at Tougaloo College;
11 she received the Master of Arts degree from Atlanta
12 University College, School of Social Work; she continued
13 studies at the Pennsylvania School of Social Work at Western
14 Reserve University; and
15 WHEREAS, Mrs. Preston was initiated in Beta Delta Omega
16 Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and transferred to Xi
17 Omega Chapter in 1944, when she accepted an administrative
18 position at the National Training School in Washington; Mrs.
19 Preston's qualifications in business administration and her
20 creative ability were tested and proven over a period of 25
21 years of service as she developed a new phase of life of
22 Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; Mrs. Preston set, and in short
23 order, met a number of significant goals for the Alpha Kappa
24 Alpha Office; these included such fundamental items as
25 centralized membership rolls, uniform initiation procedures,
26 complete files of National Convention minutes and issues of
27 the "Ivy Leaf", to name just a few; and
28 WHEREAS, By 1974, when Mrs. Preston decided to retire,
29 the building was debt free; the office space had been
30 expanded twice and there were nine full-time staff members;
31 excellent financial systems and procedures had been set up
32 and a quality operation of outstanding reputation was
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1 on-going; because Alpha Kappa Alpha had been a pioneer in the
2 professionalism of its administration, Mrs. Preston was often
3 consulted by other groups as they set up national offices;
4 and
5 WHEREAS, While serving Alpha Kappa Alpha, Mrs. Preston
6 also served the Chicago community in many valuable ways: she
7 completed three terms as president of the Chicago Urban
8 League and is a long-time Urban League Board member; she was
9 appointed by the Mayor to the Chicago Board of Education and
10 for a period of time, was vice-president; Mrs. Preston has
11 also served on the Boards of Good Shepherd Church, Hyde Park
12 Federal Savings and Loan Association, the Chicago City
13 College Board and the Chicago-Home Rule Commission; and
14 WHEREAS, Mrs. Preston was married to the late John
15 "Johnnie" Preston, who was a friendly and supportive
16 participant at Alpha Kappa Alpha functions; Mrs. Preston
17 returned from retirement to serve Alpha Kappa Alpha on two
18 occasions: to supervise the addition of the third floor to
19 the corporate offices, and from August to December 1998, as
20 acting Executive Director; she was featured in the Winter
21 1998-99 edition of the "Ivy Leaf", in an article entitled
22 "Honoring a Legend"; and
23 WHEREAS, For more than 54 years, Mrs. Preston has
24 graciously served Alpha Kappa Alpha in its times of greatest
25 need; she will be missed by tens of thousands of sorority
26 members across the United States and in several foreign
27 countries; therefore, be it
28 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
29 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
30 we mourn, along with all who knew her, the death of Carey B.
31 Maddox Preston of Chicago, Illinois; and be it further
32 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
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1 presented to the family of Carey B. Maddox Preston.