| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of Illinois House of Representatives | ||||||
| 3 | wish to congratulate Orion Samuelson, a longtime Illinois | ||||||
| 4 | agriculture figure, on his retirement on December 31, 2020 | ||||||
| 5 | after 60 years at WGN Radio; and
| ||||||
| 6 | WHEREAS, Orion Samuelson's first day on the air at WGN was | ||||||
| 7 | on September 26, 1960 at 5:00a.m., "milking time"; he was 26 | ||||||
| 8 | years old; and
| ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Orion Samuelson has become one of the most | ||||||
| 10 | recognizable voices and faces of agriculture in the country; | ||||||
| 11 | "The Big O", as he is affectionately known, presents daily | ||||||
| 12 | agriculture and business reports on WGN, in addition to | ||||||
| 13 | co-hosting The Morning Show on Saturdays with Max Armstrong; | ||||||
| 14 | over the course of his illustrious career, he has interviewed | ||||||
| 15 | nine presidents, been involved in four official government | ||||||
| 16 | trips, and broadcast from more than 40 countries, including | ||||||
| 17 | the former USSR and Cuba; and | ||||||
| 18 | WHEREAS, Orion Samuelson's lifelong commitment to | ||||||
| 19 | agriculture has been recognized by organizations in all | ||||||
| 20 | segments of agri-business; he has received numerous accolades | ||||||
| 21 | and awards over the years, including an honorary Doctor of | ||||||
| 22 | Letters from the University of Illinois and a Distinguished | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Service Award from the American Farm Bureau Federation; in | ||||||
| 2 | 2001, he was named a laureate of The Lincoln Academy of | ||||||
| 3 | Illinois and honored with the Lincoln Medal, the highest award | ||||||
| 4 | bestowed by the State of Illinois; in 2003, he was inducted | ||||||
| 5 | into the Radio Hall of Fame and was presented the award by | ||||||
| 6 | fellow member Paul Harvey; and
| ||||||
| 7 | WHEREAS, Orion Samuelson is a 4-H alumni from Vernon | ||||||
| 8 | County, Wisconsin; a longtime supporter of the 4-H program in | ||||||
| 9 | Illinois, he has made a tremendous impact in Illinois and | ||||||
| 10 | beyond; and
| ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Orion Samuelson's name adorns the Junior | ||||||
| 12 | Livestock Building at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in | ||||||
| 13 | Springfield and an honorary street sign on the southeast | ||||||
| 14 | corner of E. Illinois Street and N. Cityfront Plaza Drive in | ||||||
| 15 | Chicago; and
| ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Orion Samuelson cherishes the honorary Doctor of | ||||||
| 17 | Letters that he received from the University of Illinois at | ||||||
| 18 | Urbana-Champaign in 2001 above all of his other honors; | ||||||
| 19 | therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 21 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 22 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we declare August 17, 2021 as | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | Orion Samuelson Day in the State of Illinois to honor his | ||||||
| 2 | dedication to the Illinois agriculture industry; and be it | ||||||
| 3 | further
| ||||||
| 4 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 5 | presented to Orion Samuelson, Larry Wert with WGN Radio, the | ||||||
| 6 | Illinois Foundation Board and the University of Illinois | ||||||
| 7 | Extension Program of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, | ||||||
| 8 | and Environmental Sciences.
| ||||||