HR0792 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0792 LRB093 21652 KEF 49240 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Mr. Florian J. Barbi on receiving the Man of the Year Award presented by the Italo-American Soccer and Cultural Club, the "Maroons"; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Barbi is the chairman of the board, president, and CEO of First Nations Bank of Wheaton (FNBW), FNBW-Bank Chicago, and Bank of Bourbonnais; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Barbi was born in Fornaci Di Barga near Lucca, Italy; he came to the United States with his parents when he was a child; the family eventually settled in Elmwood Park, where Mr. Barbi's mother and father, Anna Maria and Luigi, owned and operated an Italian deli know as Alpine Food Store, which flourished under their proprietorship for 45 years; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Barbi went to work at the family business at an early age, helping his parents after school and on weekends; after graduating from Benedictine University in 1970, he embarked on what would become a highly successful career in banking, holding positions at Capitol Bank in Chicago and later at First State Bank of Chicago; he headed up lending departments at those institutions, actively assisting many Italian Americans, some of them immigrants and first-generation customers; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Barbi is treasurer of the Edison Park Chamber of Commerce and also sits on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Banking Association; he is the third vice president of the Joint Civic Committee of Italian Americans, a council member of Casa Italia, and other various Italian-American organizations, including the Maroon's Soccer Club; he was also co-recipient of the Joseph Cardinal Bernadin Humanitarian Award in 2002; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Barbi and his wife, Dora, live in Deerfield and have three children; and

WHEREAS, The Man of the Year Award will be presented to Mr. Barbi on April 17, 2004 by the Maroons Italian American Soccer and Cultural Club; the Maroons Club sponsors players and teams and recognizes their outstanding play by awarding scholarships to various universities and colleges in Illinois; their players have been named National Collegiate Players of the Year, members of Olympic Teams, National Youth Teams, Midwest All-Star Teams, and Pan American National Teams; and

WHEREAS, The Maroons Club also works to advance the interest of the local Italian American community and to provide the opportunity for children of all nationalities to play a sport loved by millions; members perform volunteer work as coaches in many communities in the Chicagoland area; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Florian J. Barbi on being honored with the 2004 Man of the Year Award by the Italo-American Soccer and Cultural Club, the "Maroons", and recognize his unswerving devotion to the people of the Italian American community; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Florian J. Barbi as a token of our respect.