HR0822

LRB094 15897 HSS 51120 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, Gilbert N. Stein began his career in the dairy 
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business during high school, bottling milk in the basement of 
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his parents' farmhouse in Canton; by his senior year, he was 
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delivering 200 quarts a day in his Model T Ford and by his high 
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school graduation, he was making $125 a week; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Between 1937 and 1940, he was operating a dairy 
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and ice cream plant with a retail ice cream shop; in 1944, he 
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heard about people lining up for blocks in Moline to buy Dairy 
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Queen soft serve; in 1945, he signed an agreement with Harry 
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Axene, owner of the Dairy Queen store in Kewanee, that gave Mr. 
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Stein the territory rights to develop 46 counties in Central 
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Illinois; his first store was opened in Normal in 1946; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He went on to open stores in Urbana, Quincy, and 
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Springfield and acquired 17 additional counties north of 
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Peoria; in the late 1960s, he acquired the territory rights to 
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develop two-thirds of Missouri; it was during negotiating for 
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Missouri that Mr. Stein came up with the idea to form a group 
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of individuals involved in the Dairy Queen system that would be 
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interested in acquiring the rights from J.F. "Grandpa" 
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McCullough, the founder of the soft-serve concept who coined 
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the Dairy Queen name; in 1962, a verbal agreement was made with 
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the McCullough family and International Dairy Queen was 
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founded; and

 
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    WHEREAS, He went on to overcome technological challenges 
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and shifts in market trends and demands through carefully 
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researched pilot testing across populations and time; he 
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adapted and persevered through changing society and market 
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cultures and rose to meet his challenges with innovative 
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business solutions; he is recognized as a true visionary in the 
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business world; and

 
 


 






HR0822
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LRB094 15897 HSS 51120 r




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    WHEREAS, He valued higher education, but was unable to 
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avail himself of a formal university education; he displayed 
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tremendous energy from an early age and maintaned that energy 
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and vision across time; and

 
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    WHEREAS, In recognition of his contributions to the 
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principles and strategies of business franchising, mentoring 
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strategies for franchise managers, marketing prowess, and 
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contributions to the City of Springfield, to the State of 
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Illinois, and to the nation, Mr. Stein was conferred with an 
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Honorary Doctor of Letters by the University of Illinois at 
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Springfield; 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 Gilbert N. Stein on being conferred with an 
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Honorary Doctor of Letters, and we recognize his vision and 
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contributions to the State of Illinois; and be it further

 
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    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
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presented to Mr. Stein as an expression of our esteem.