HR1202 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1202 LRB098 21757 GRL 60611 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Larry W. Mizell on the occasion of his retirement as Executive Director of Family Counseling Center, Inc.; and

WHEREAS, Larry Mizell was born in Pope County; as a young child, he moved to Johnson County, where he has remained as a lifelong resident; and

WHEREAS, Larry Mizell graduated from Simpson Grade School and Vienna High School; he subsequently received his Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Murray State University; and

WHEREAS, In 1971, Larry Mizell began his first career with the Illinois Department of Corrections as a Personnel Officer at the Vienna Correctional Center; throughout his 29 year career, he served as Administrative Assistant, Warden of the Vienna and Shawnee Correctional Centers, Assistant Deputy Director of the Adult Division, and Chief Deputy Director of the Department; and

WHEREAS, In June of 2000, Larry Mizell was selected to serve as the Executive Director of Family Counseling Center, Inc., a non-profit agency which serves adults in Pope, Hardin, and Johnson counties and youth in the southern 7-county region; the agency provides developmental services for disabled adults in both the day training and residential home settings, behavioral health services for adults in outpatient, residential, and independent living settings and for youth in outpatient settings, and substance abuse services to both youth and adults and supportive living services for the senior population; and

WHEREAS, As Executive Director of Family Counseling Center, Inc., Larry Mizell was instrumental in many major accomplishments of the agency, including the construction of Garden Apartments in Vienna, an 8-apartment complex for disabled or elderly adults; the acquisition of acreage along Interstate 24 in Johnson County as a possible future office building site and construction of a records storage building; the relocation of the outpatient office in Elizabethtown; the expansion of the Johnson County day training program for developmentally disabled adults with the purchase and renovation of the new training site on Oliver Street in Vienna; the purchase of Cache River House in Karnak, an 8-bed CILA residential home; the construction of Autumn Ridge Supportive Living Facility in Vienna, a 46 apartment complex housing seniors 65 and older; the construction of a new Hilltop House in Rosiclare, an 8-bed CILA residential home; and the expansion of services in Elizabethtown with the purchase and renovation of a 6-bed CILA residential home; and

WHEREAS, Larry Mizell is an active member of his community; he is a member and President of the Southern Five Counties Regional Board of Education; he was a member of the State of Illinois Southern District Guardianship Advocacy Board; he is a member of the Board of Directors of Southern Trust Bank in Goreville, the Johnson County Planning Commission, and the Johnson County Revitalization Committee; he was also involved in the creation of "Rails to Trails", the initial conversion of Northfork Southern Railroad into a hiking and biking trail from Saline County through Johnson County and on to Pulaski County; and

WHEREAS, Larry Mizell and his wife, Barbara, currently reside on their family farm in Johnson County near Trigg Tower and surrounded by the Shawnee National Forest; they have 2 children, Margo (Charlie) Keene and Megan (Nathan) Blaylock, and 3 grandchildren, Maggie, Millie, and Zell Keene; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Larry W. Mizell on the occasion of his retirement and wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Larry Mizell as a symbol of our esteem and respect.