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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Mark H.
4Ayers of Alexandria, Virginia, formerly of Peoria, who passed
5away on April 8, 2012; and
 
6    WHEREAS, He was born on January 22, 1949, in Canton, to
7Edward Charles Ayers and Daunie Darlene Hawks Ayers; he married
8Deborah Selburg in Peoria, on May 24, 1998; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Mark H. Ayers was President of the Building and
10Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO; prior to becoming
11President of the BCTD, he served for 9 years as the director of
12the Construction and Maintenance Department at the
13International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); he was
14also a member of IBEW Local 34 in Peoria, since 1973, which he
15headed as business manager for 9 years; and
 
16    WHEREAS, He was co-founder and chairman of the Central
17Illinois Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors
18Association-IBEW Local 34 Quality Connection; he was appointed
19to the National Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee; he
20served as a trustee and chairman of the NECA-IBEW Welfare and
21Pension Trust Funds; and he was a member of the board and on
22the executive committee of the Peoria Area Labor Management

 

 

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1Council and the Labor Management Cooperative Health Program;
2and
 
3    WHEREAS, During his years with Local 34 and the
4West-Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades
5Council, he also served on the Board of Directors of the Peoria
6Chapter of the American Red Cross, and was appointed by the
7Mayor of the City of Peoria to serve on the Peoria Civic Center
8Authority; he worked with the Junior League of Peoria to build
9the Tri-Centennial Playground in Glen Oak Park commemorating
10the 300th birthday of the founding of Peoria; and
 
11    WHEREAS, He was also instrumental in organizing 2 major
12Labor Management committees in the Peoria area, including the
13Peoria Area Labor Management (PALM) group which brought all
14area unions and companies together including Caterpillar and
15the UAW, and the Tri-County Construction labor management
16committee, which brings all the building trades unions and
17their respective contractors and associations together in a
18positive Labor-Management setting; and
 
19    WHEREAS, He attended the George Meany Institute for Labor
20Studies, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of
21Illinois Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations; he also
22served in the United States Navy as an aviator during the
23Vietnam war era, and his commitment and devotion to our

 

 

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1nation's military veterans was amplified through his direct
2involvement with the "Helmets to Hardhats" program, serving as
3president of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council and through his
4support of the Education Center of the Vietnam Veterans
5Memorial Fund; and
 
6    WHEREAS, He was appointed by President Barack Obama to
7serve on the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear
8Future; he also served as chairman of the National Coordinating
9Committee for Multi Employer Plans and on the Board of
10Directors of the Diabetes Research Institute; he was
11Secretary-Treasurer of the Union Labor Life Insurance Company
12and a Chairman of the Center for Construction Education and
13Research CPWR; he was on the Board of Trustees for the AFL-CIO
14Housing Investment Trust and was Labor Co-Chair for the Helmets
15to Hardhats Program; he served on the Board of Directors of the
16Nuclear Energy Institute and on the Board of Trustees of the
17National Labor College; and he was on the Board of Directors of
18the Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation
19(EHDOC); and
 
20    WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his father, Edward
21Charles Ayers; and his stepfather, John Taylor; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Mark Ayers is survived by his wife, Deborah
23Selburg Ayers; his mother, Daunie Hawks Ayers Taylor; his

 

 

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1brother, Edward Kent (Nancy) Ayers; his daughters, Aimee Ayers
2(Bill) Mansfield and Tami (Bill) Lamprecht; his grandchildren,
3Carlee, Porter, Brenin, Tatym, Taryn, and Taylor; and several
4nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
6NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of
8Mark Ayers; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10presented to the family of Mark Ayers as a symbol of our
11sincere sympathy.