093_HR0473
LRB093 13190 HSS 18457 r
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of
3 the State of Illinois wish to congratulate The Centralia
4 Foundation on the occasion of the celebration of its 60th
5 anniversary on Thursday, September 25, 2003; and
6 WHEREAS, The Centralia Foundation was started in January
7 of 1943 by Verne E. Joy; the foundation was established with
8 an initial donation of $9,000 for the purpose of building a
9 place of natural beauty that could benefit both young and
10 young at heart; through the benevolence of Mr. Joy and his
11 enthusiasm for this dream, others were encouraged to
12 participate in what was to become a perpetual gift to the
13 community of Centralia; and
14 WHEREAS, In January of 1946, Mr. Joy purchased and
15 donated a parcel of land amounting to 73 acres that was
16 located 10 blocks east of downtown Centralia; a second piece
17 of ground was attained in May when Caroline M. Robnett gave
18 her family farm, 40 acres that neighbored the Joy ground to
19 the northwest; in June of the same year, Dr. Carl Hall
20 donated a 35 acre tract of land that lay to the north and
21 east of the 2 preceding land contributions; and
22 WHEREAS, In the year following, more land was acquired;
23 the lands merged and through contributed funds, the Centralia
24 Foundation Parks System was begun; a firm of park architects
25 out of St. Louis, Missouri, drew up a master plan that would
26 emphasize the natural aspects of the proposed park; included
27 in the new park were stone entrance piers, bridges, and
28 numerous rustic shelters; and
29 WHEREAS, Through the years, the park has grown and
30 flourished; its boundaries now contain 235 acres of preserved
31 park grounds; throughout the park, the emphasis on
32 maintaining a natural appearance is evident; the park is
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1 privately owned, privately funded, yet open to the public,
2 free of charge; it includes a carillon park with a 160 foot
3 tall carillon tower, which is one of the largest in the
4 world; a $6,000,000 recreation complex; and a youth
5 activities center; and
6 WHEREAS, The Centralia Foundation is governed by a
7 7-member trustee board; all trustees serve without
8 compensation; the board also provides scholarships of well
9 over $100,000 annually; the mission of the Foundation is to
10 develop and guide philanthropy to meet the ongoing, changing,
11 and emerging needs of the people of Centralia and surrounding
12 communities, and to be a responsible steward to its donors
13 and of its endowments; the vision of the Foundation is that
14 through the generosity of its citizens, Centralia and
15 surrounding communities will experience an improved, even
16 exceptional, quality of life; therefore, be it
17 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
18 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19 we congratulate the Centralia Foundation Board on the
20 occasion of its 60th anniversary celebration; and be it
21 further
22 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23 presented to the Centralia Foundation as an expression of our
24 respect and esteem and with many wishes for continued success
25 in its mission.