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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Tom Meents on
his numerous | ||||||
| 4 | distinguished accomplishments during his career as a monster | ||||||
| 5 | truck driver; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Tom Meents was born on July 10, 1967 in Paxton and | ||||||
| 7 | is a 1985 graduate of Paxton High
School, where he was a member | ||||||
| 8 | of Paxton's 1984 Class 2A state runner-up football team and FFA | ||||||
| 9 | (Future Farmers of America); and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Tom Meents took multiple power mechanics, | ||||||
| 11 | welding, and shop classes at Paxton High
School, and, after | ||||||
| 12 | graduation, he worked as a mechanic at a dealership in Rantoul; | ||||||
| 13 | in his free time,
he worked on a racing truck and raced the | ||||||
| 14 | truck on the weekends, dubbing the truck Shake Me; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, In 1988, Tom Meents participated in his first | ||||||
| 16 | televised event, a mud-racing event in Pittsburgh put
on by the | ||||||
| 17 | United States Hot Rod Association (USHRA) and nationally | ||||||
| 18 | broadcast on ESPN2, where he ran
the second-quickest time; and
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| 19 | WHEREAS, Tom Meents won the National Mud Racing | ||||||
| 20 | Organization's (NMRO) Open Class Championship
in 1992; after | ||||||
| 21 | teaming up with Paul Shafer, he won NMRO's Class 5 championship | ||||||
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| 1 | in 1993 and 1994
and the Class 6 championship in 1993; in 1997, | ||||||
| 2 | he earned a victory in the USHRA Truck Fest; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, In 1999, Tom Meents was commissioned by PACE Motor | ||||||
| 4 | Sports to drive their monster truck
named Bulldozer; in his | ||||||
| 5 | first ever event driving Bulldozer, he won his race on national | ||||||
| 6 | television; and | ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Tom Meents was commissioned to drive a new truck | ||||||
| 8 | in 2000 named Goldberg, with which he
won the inaugural Monster | ||||||
| 9 | Jam World Finals and completed a full sweep of the event in | ||||||
| 10 | both 2001 and
2002; the truck was given an overhaul and renamed | ||||||
| 11 | Maximum Destruction in 2003; and | ||||||
| 12 | WHEREAS, Tom Meents has won 11 Monster Jam World Finals | ||||||
| 13 | championships, including six in racing and five
in freestyle; | ||||||
| 14 | and | ||||||
| 15 | WHEREAS, In addition to racing, Tom Meents has accomplished | ||||||
| 16 | several firsts in Maximum Destruction,
including the first | ||||||
| 17 | person to attempt a backflip in a monster truck, the first | ||||||
| 18 | person to complete a double
backflip, and the first to land a | ||||||
| 19 | front-flip in a monster truck; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Tom Meents continues to race today, pursuing his | ||||||
| 21 | 12th Monster Jam Finals title; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Tom Meents has two sons who also race, and he is a | ||||||
| 2 | proud member of the Paxton community; therefore, be it
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| 3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 4 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 5 | we congratulate Tom Meents on his extensive accomplishments and | ||||||
| 6 | the dedication he exhibits towards his sport, and we commend | ||||||
| 7 | him for his lifelong support of his community; and be it | ||||||
| 8 | further
| ||||||
| 9 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 10 | presented to Tom Meents as a symbol of our
respect and esteem.
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