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91_SR0034
LRB9105819KBkb
1 SENATE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, Hugh E. Muncy dedicated his professional life,
3 spanning more than three decades in service, to the retail
4 industry in Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, Hugh Muncy was born on June 19, 1917, graduated
6 from Cornell College, Iowa with majors in speech and
7 journalism, received special training in radio broadcasting
8 at the University of Iowa, and completed studies at
9 Northwestern University's Institute for Trade Association
10 Executives; and
11 WHEREAS, He began his long and illustrious career in 1949
12 as Community Relations Director of the Illinois Chain Store
13 Council, during which time he brought Illinois retailing into
14 Chicago public school classrooms by conducting retail
15 lectures on WBEZ radio; and
16 WHEREAS, He joined the staff of the Illinois Retail
17 Merchants Association upon its creation in 1957; and
18 WHEREAS, As a staff executive and later during his
19 15-year tenure as the second President of the Association,
20 he, with the guidance of members, Directors, staff, and all
21 Illinoisans, contributed immeasurably to developing and
22 managing IRMA's full range of services, fashioning from his
23 efforts one of America's preeminent state retail
24 associations; and
25 WHEREAS, In the area of store operations he was
26 responsible for creating IRMA's renowned SELLING IS OUR
27 BUSINESS training program, its Unemployment Insurance Manual,
28 and countless seminars and training programs; and
29 WHEREAS, Under Hugh's direction IRMA moved to the
30 forefront of government relations in Illinois by creating
31 model shoplifting and bad check prevention laws, replacing
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1 the onerous personal property tax, and negotiating
2 significant compromises in unemployment insurance and
3 workers' compensation laws; and
4 WHEREAS, He guided IRMA to become "The Voice of
5 Retailing" in Illinois, encouraging staff executives to
6 participate in virtually every kind of business meeting
7 imaginable to keep retailing as an industry in front of the
8 general public, and organizing EVERYTHING HAS A PRICE Week to
9 impress upon the public the significant impact retail theft
10 has on the economy; and
11 WHEREAS, He created numerous opportunities for IRMA
12 membership investments to more than pay for themselves in the
13 form of dollar saving bankcard processing, insurance,
14 collection and freight auditing services, and monthly sales
15 comparison reports; and
16 WHEREAS, Hugh Muncy was known across the United States
17 for the 1,806 RETAIL NEWS BRIEFS newsletters he authored that
18 kept Illinois merchants posted on the people, trends, and
19 national issues of importance to the industry; and
20 WHEREAS, Over the years, Hugh Muncy has had more ideas
21 than could be considered in two lifetimes, much less one
22 distinguished career; therefore, be it
23 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIRST GENERAL
24 ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we extend our sincere
25 condolences upon the death of Hugh E. Muncy to his dear wife,
26 Mary; his beloved daughters, Martha, Sue, and Margie; and
27 their families; and be it further
28 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
29 presented to the family of Hugh E. Muncy.