HR0341

LRB094 12041 CSA 45189 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Leon M. McNair is retiring from the Fox Bend Golf 
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Course in Oswego after 38 years as its PGA Professional and 
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Director of Golf; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. McNair was born in Amsterdam, New York, on May 
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15, 1941, and grew up in Cooperstown, New York; when he was 
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five years old, his parents took him to experience The 
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Leatherstocking Golf Course located on Otsego Lake, and he goes 
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back to that golf course to play in The Cooperstown Senior Open 
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that benefits the Baseball Hall of Fame; and

 
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    WHEREAS, When he was seven, his family moved to Chicago and 
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he participated in several sports during his school years; he 
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graduated from Glenbard West High School in 1960 and attended 
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Southern Illinois University, where he was a member of the golf 
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team that won the 1964 NCAA Division II National Championship; 
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in the summer of 1961, he worked for The Wadsworth Golf Course 
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Construction Company, beginning a lifelong relationship with 
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Brent Wadsworth; and

 
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    WHEREAS, By 1965, the dirt was being moved on the old 
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Pearse Farm just east of Oswego on Route 34 to make way for the 
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Fox Bend Golf Course; Mr. McNair was one of the crew that gave 
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life to what would at first become a nine hole semi-private 
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golf club; it was also in 1965 that he married his wife, 
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Carole; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1966, while Mr. McNair was working on his 
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master's degree in Industrial Recreation, Brent Wadsworth 
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asked him to come to Fox Bend to be the Head Golf Professional; 
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the golf course opened June 15, 1967 and, by 1969, it had 18 
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holes; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In March 1980, the Oswegoland and Fox Valley Park 
 


 






HR0341
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LRB094 12041 CSA 45189 r




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Districts purchased the Fox Bend Golf Club; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In 1977, Mr. McNair was a regional qualifier for 
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the U.S. Open Championship; in 1978, he was a member of the 
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Illinois PGA Radix Cup Team; in 1986, he qualified for the 
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National PGA Club Professional Championship; and in 1995, he 
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was a qualifier for the National PGA Senior Club Professional 
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Championship; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He was the recipient of numerous awards; in 1992, 
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he was named Illinois PGA Professional of the Year and was 
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recognized as a Top 15 National PGA Merchandiser of the Year in 
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Public Golf Course category; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Mr. McNair has served on the Illinois PGA 
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Executive Committee and the National Advisory Board for the 
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Oldsmobile (now Buick) Scramble,  as an Illinois PGA Delegate to 
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the National PGA Convention, as the Treasurer of the Illinois 
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PGA, and as President of the Illinois PGA; he presently serves 
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on the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame Selection Committee, is a 
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member and the President of the Board of Directors of The First 
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Tee Aurora Chapter, and serves on the Illinois PGA Foundation 
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Board; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE  HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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we congratulate Leon M. McNair on working in a profession he 
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loved for 38 years and wish him much health and happiness 
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throughout his retirement; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Leon M. McNair as an expression of our admiration.