093_HR0542

 
                                     LRB093 14380 HSS 20001 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members of the House of  Representatives  of
 3    the State of Illinois wish to congratulate The Rotary Club of
 4    Joliet on the occasion of its 90th anniversary; and

 5        WHEREAS,   Rotary   is  the  first  and  largest  service
 6    organization of  business  and  professional  leaders  united
 7    worldwide  who  provide  humanitarian service, encourage high
 8    ethical standards in all vocations, and help  build  goodwill
 9    and   peace   in  the  world;  in  166  countries  worldwide,
10    approximately 1.2  million  Rotarians  belong  to  more  than
11    30,000 Rotary clubs; and

12        WHEREAS,   The  Rotary  Club  of  Joliet  was  officially
13    chartered  on  August  1,  1913,  and  then   accepted   into
14    membership  at  the  Rotary  International Convention held in
15    Buffalo, New York, on August 18-21, 1913; the  Joliet  Rotary
16    Club  became  the  first Rotary Club from a city of less than
17    75,000 people; and

18        WHEREAS, Members of the Joliet Rotary  Club  have  always
19    been   leaders   in   the  community;  many  have  been  past
20    presidents, board members, and leaders of the  Joliet  Region
21    Chamber  of  Commerce,  United  Way,  Will  County Center for
22    Economic Development, and numerous other civic organizations;
23    and

24        WHEREAS,   The   Joliet   Rotary   Club   sponsored   the
25    establishment of 10 new  Rotary  clubs  in  the  metropolitan
26    Chicago   area;   Joliet  Rotarian  Bob  Leckrone  introduced
27    Resolution  8954  officially  admitting  women  into   Rotary
28    International  at the Conference on Legislation in 1989; four
29    Joliet Rotarians have served as District Governor  to  Rotary
30    District 6450; and

31        WHEREAS, Joliet Rotary Club has either sponsored or taken
 
                            -2-      LRB093 14380 HSS 20001 r
 1    an active part in many numerous community projects, including
 2    the purchase of uniforms and instruments for the start of the
 3    first  Joliet  Township  High  School  band (1913), playing a
 4    significant role in the founding of  the  Joliet  Chamber  of
 5    Commerce  (1914),  procuring Higginbotham Woods for city park
 6    property (1915), sponsoring  the  first  Boy  Scout  camp  in
 7    Morris which is still in existence today (1930), establishing
 8    a  hospitality  program for traveling WWII servicemen (1942),
 9    sponsoring the first community July  4th  fireworks  display,
10    donating over $350,000 and in-kind contributions to build and
11    maintain the Rotary Sports Complex at the Galowich YMCA (1984
12    through  1989),  and  establishing annual endowed scholarship
13    funds for students at Lewis  University,  University  of  St.
14    Francis, and Joliet Junior College (2002); and

15        WHEREAS,  The  Joliet  Rotary Club established the annual
16    Rotary Raffle which has  provided  over  $660,000  for  local
17    projects;   the  Club  significantly  contributed  to  Rotary
18    International's  3H  Program  and  oversubscribed  to   their
19    Polio-Plus   Program;   the   Club   has   also  hosted  many
20    international students in both the regular  exchange  program
21    and the short-term student exchange program, and participated
22    in  the  Rotary  Group  Exchange  with  groups  from England,
23    Egypt/Bahrain,  Greece,  Argentina,  Australia,   India   and
24    Turkey; therefore, be it

25        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
26    NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  that
27    we  congratulate the Rotary Club of Joliet on the occasion of
28    its 90th anniversary, and we thank the Club for its  numerous
29    contributions to the community; and be it further

30        RESOLVED,  That  a  suitable  copy  of this resolution be
31    presented to the Rotary Club of Joliet as  an  expression  of
32    our respect and esteem.