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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to honor Dick Dechert on the
4 occasion of his lifetime of dedicated service to his community;
5 and
 
6     WHEREAS, Dick Dechert was born and raised in Stonington,
7 where he spent his summers playing baseball and his winters
8 playing basketball; when Stonington went to the basketball
9 sectionals in 1949 and lost to Taylorville, he scored 14 points
10 during the 66-42 game; and
 
11     WHEREAS, After high school, Dick Dechert attended Millikin
12 University; he graduated in 1957 after two years in the
13 service; during his tenure at Millikin, he played baseball and
14 basketball and was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, where he
15 met many life-long friends; and
 
16     WHEREAS, After college, Dick Dechert took a job with Leader
17 Iron Works, a pressure vessel manufacturer in Decatur; he
18 quickly became one of the top salespeople at Leader and was
19 placed in charge of numerous national sales responsibilities;
20 he also worked for Bankers Life and Hydrotex; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Dick Dechert is well-known throughout his

 

 

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1 community as a successful businessman; he started his career as
2 a venture capitalist when he joined with Larry Hamm and Jim
3 Ploeger to create a sales agency for Hydrotex, which became
4 very successful and was then sold; he then joined Max Greenberg
5 and Dave Cooper to start About Time Coffee, which became
6 Marquis Beverage; he later operated his own restaurant on the
7 first floor of 363 South Main in Decatur; he was recruited by
8 Larry van Alstine, Harry Cook, Phil Jones, and others to help
9 rescue the nearly-bankrupt Decatur Sports Foundation and the
10 Decatur Pride; he also bought Decatur Electronics with Lyle
11 Rausch and Cortland Moody and quickly sold it, but not before
12 he personally sold and delivered the first radar gun the St.
13 Louis Cardinals ever bought; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Dick Dechert has dedicated a great amount of time
15 and effort to volunteering; he worked for the Decatur Mental
16 Health Center and the RCC; he has operated DUI Services, which
17 provides classes and counseling for those convicted of drunk
18 driving, with Joan Lewis since 1984; he has served as a
19 volunteer and as membership director at the YMCA; he was also
20 instrumental in the creation of Big Brothers Big Sisters of
21 Macon County, which has provided caring adult mentors for
22 thousands of kids since 1987, and is greatly responsible for
23 the organization’s talented staff and various social spaces;
24 and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Dick Dechert enjoys golfing, particularly at
2 Scovill Golf Course, where his big smile welcomes golfers on
3 Tuesdays and Thursdays; he also runs Scovill’s Friday evening
4 couples league and serves as his wife’s recruiter for the
5 Millikin Women’s Golf team; he also continues his work at Big
6 Brothers Big Sisters, where he serves as president of the Board
7 of Directors; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Dick Dechert is a member of First United Methodist
9 Church, where he has taught an adult Sunday school for over 40
10 years; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Dick Dechert and his loving wife, Marilyn, have 5
12 children in their loving blended family; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
15 honor Dick Dechert on the occasion of his lifetime of dedicated
16 service to his community and wish him continued success and
17 happiness in the future; and be it further
 
18     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19 presented to Dick Dechert as a symbol of our esteem and
20 respect.