Full Text of HR0528 102nd General Assembly
HR0528 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of | 4 | | Elizabeth Ann Weidner of Dieterich, who passed away on | 5 | | September 29, 2021; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was born to Matthew and | 7 | | Jennifer (McCabe) Weidner in Effingham on January 2, 2004, | 8 | | earning the distinction of 1st Baby of the Year at St. | 9 | | Anthony's Memorial Hospital; she was the second of four | 10 | | children; she was dubbed Queen Elizabeth by her | 11 | | great-grandfather Albert, and he affectionately called her his | 12 | | "Queenie"; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was diagnosed with Stage 4 High | 14 | | Risk Neuroblastoma in January 2016, and she underwent numerous | 15 | | surgeries, chemotherapy, radiation, bone marrow transplant, | 16 | | immunotherapy, clinical trials, and more; she battled this | 17 | | horrible disease with grace, determination, and strength for | 18 | | nearly 6 years; during which, she inspired and impacted so | 19 | | many on the local, state, and national level; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was crowned Junior Miss | 21 | | Effingham County Fair in 2017, and she was immensely proud to | 22 | | wear the crown and to represent Effingham County at many |
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| 1 | | pageants, events, parades, and festivals across the State; she | 2 | | then started Crowns Fight Cancer to raise money and awareness | 3 | | in the fight against childhood cancer with the motto "Just a | 4 | | Girl Changing the World One Rhinestone at a Time"; along with | 5 | | the help of several clubs, schools, communities, and | 6 | | businesses, she started an amenity drive, collecting and | 7 | | donating over 80,000 personal care items to date to Children's | 8 | | Miracle Network Hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in | 9 | | multiple states, helping families like hers by providing items | 10 | | they may lack during hospital stays and allowing them to focus | 11 | | on their children; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was involved in numerous | 13 | | activities, organizations, and clubs; she was involved in | 14 | | modified pedal tractor pulls from a young age and competed in | 15 | | numerous competitions; one year, she was both the Illinois and | 16 | | Indiana State Champion; she competed at nationals in Mitchell, | 17 | | South Dakota for many years, pulling at times in excess of 900 | 18 | | pounds; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner had a passion for dance and | 20 | | started dance lessons at Jansen's when she was only 3 years | 21 | | old; she loved all kinds of dance; she was a cheerleader for | 22 | | the Teutopolis Junior High School for 2 years, cheering her | 23 | | teams through multiple state appearances; her love for dance | 24 | | eventually led her to become a Teutopolis High School |
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| 1 | | Pomerette, fulfilling a childhood dream of hers; she was the | 2 | | Illinois High School Association Spirit of Sport winner in | 3 | | 2021; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was also passionate about | 5 | | theater and drama; she placed Runner-Up at the Poetry Out Loud | 6 | | competition in Springfield in 2020, reciting Invictus, Triumph | 7 | | Like a Girl, and Siblings; she performed in numerous plays at | 8 | | the Effingham Performance Center, Teutopolis Junior High | 9 | | School, and Teutopolis High School; she also had one of the | 10 | | leading parts in the Teutopolis Terquasquicentennial | 11 | | Celebration; she was preparing for the fall's production at | 12 | | the time of her passing; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was a member of the Country | 14 | | Cousins 4-H Club and other spin clubs; she was involved in | 15 | | public speaking through 4-H and also exhibited many other | 16 | | general projects, and she won at the state level for many | 17 | | years; she showed many different animals throughout the years, | 18 | | including rabbits, chickens, dogs, cats, and pigs; she also | 19 | | competed in Master Showmanship; she was named one of four 2021 | 20 | | National 4-H Youth in Action Pillar winners in the area of | 21 | | Civic Engagement in 2020; most recently, she showed pigs at | 22 | | the Duquoin State Fair and had the Reserve Grand Champion | 23 | | Duroc Gilt; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was also a member of the FFA; | 2 | | she loved volunteering with the Piglets on Parade exhibit | 3 | | during the Illinois State Fair, educating the public about the | 4 | | swine industry; she was a chapter officer for the Teutopolis | 5 | | FFA chapter and served as reporter and secretary; she was also | 6 | | a Section 20 officer for 2 years and served as sentinel and | 7 | | secretary; she participated in many contests throughout the | 8 | | years, and she won the Section 20 Creed Speak Contest and was | 9 | | the 2020 State winner for her SAE in Service Learning, | 10 | | advancing to nationals; she received her State FFA Degree in | 11 | | 2021, a distinction that only the Top 3% of Illinois FFA | 12 | | members receive; she was working towards her American Degree, | 13 | | a distinction that only the Top 1% of American FFA members | 14 | | receive; she wrote many grants to start the hydroponic program | 15 | | at Teutopolis High School, working with teachers to secure | 16 | | funding for revamping the courtyards, which will benefit | 17 | | students at Teutopolis High School; she was also working to | 18 | | secure funding to build a greenhouse, elevating the FFA | 19 | | program for students and the community; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, in 2017, Elizabeth Weidner became an advocate for | 21 | | those battling childhood cancer, and she was a national | 22 | | spokesperson at many American Cancer Society events; she was | 23 | | responsible for bringing the Gold Together initiative to | 24 | | Illinois for the American Cancer Society; she spoke, danced, | 25 | | and hosted at Curefest in Washington, D.C. many times and |
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| 1 | | pleaded with Congressional leaders to increase funding for | 2 | | childhood cancer research and ultimately better treatments; | 3 | | she participated in several childhood cancer caucuses and | 4 | | Climb the Hill events on Capitol Hill; she was part of a | 5 | | groundbreaking meeting at the University of Maryland, where | 6 | | the FDA, medical professionals, parents, and children met to | 7 | | discuss chemotherapy induced hearing loss; she partnered with | 8 | | Kids v. Cancer and the American Childhood Cancer Organization | 9 | | and worked on numerous projects; in the last few years, she | 10 | | filmed the award-winning The Promise: A Docuseries on | 11 | | Childhood Cancer and the mini-documentary Switching the | 12 | | Summit, and she had started working on a third film project in | 13 | | August; as an individual, she raised nearly $70,000 for | 14 | | various cancer organizations over the years and, as part of | 15 | | various groups, she raised millions for research and family | 16 | | support programs; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner earned the distinction of the | 18 | | Governor's Volunteer Service Award and the national Prudential | 19 | | Community Spirit Award in 2019; she also highly encouraged | 20 | | organ and blood product donation, and she never shied away | 21 | | from giving food to the homeless; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was a kind, caring, loving, | 23 | | passionate, and graceful young woman who inspired and | 24 | | influenced many all over the world; even through the most |
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| 1 | | difficult times, she would brighten a room with her smile; she | 2 | | had a zest for life and loved spending time with her brothers; | 3 | | and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner's legacy will continue through | 5 | | The Elizabeth Ann Weidner Memorial Scholarship Fund, which has | 6 | | been established as a way for her servant's heart to continue | 7 | | giving; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner was preceded in death by a | 9 | | sibling angel; her aunt, Kimberly L. McCabe; her cousins, | 10 | | Derek and Nathan Weidner; her great-grandparents, Albert and | 11 | | Arvella (Alexander) McCabe, Marion and Sophia (Schwab) | 12 | | Gasparovich, Raymond and Bernadine (Ochs) Kuenstler, and Royal | 13 | | and Emma (Buerster) Weidner; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Elizabeth Weidner is survived by her parents; her | 15 | | brothers, Ethan (Madilyn Brummer), Eric, and Evan; her | 16 | | grandparents, Richard and Margaret (Kuenstler) Weidner; her | 17 | | many, many animals; and her many aunts, uncles, cousins, | 18 | | friends, pageant sisters, and supporters from afar; therefore, | 19 | | be it
| 20 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 21 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 22 | | we mourn the passing of Elizabeth Ann Weidner and extend our |
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| 1 | | sincere condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew | 2 | | and loved her; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 4 | | presented to the parents of Elizabeth Weidner as an expression | 5 | | of our deepest sympathy.
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