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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Leland J. Watson on | ||||||
| 4 | the occasion of his retirement as Chief of the Normal Fire | ||||||
| 5 | Department in 2009 after 37 years of dedicated service; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Leland Watson began his service with the Normal | ||||||
| 7 | Fire Department as a firefighter in 1972; he was appointed to | ||||||
| 8 | the rank of Lieutenant in 1975, followed by a promotion to | ||||||
| 9 | Assistant Fire Chief in 1986; he then continued his steady | ||||||
| 10 | ascent through the department's ranks, becoming the | ||||||
| 11 | department's Chief in 1997, where he remained until his | ||||||
| 12 | retirement; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Under Chief Watson's leadership, the Normal Fire | ||||||
| 14 | Department has grown from a department of 48 employees with two | ||||||
| 15 | fire stations and an annual budget of $2.8 million in 1997 to a | ||||||
| 16 | department of 66 employees with three fire stations and an | ||||||
| 17 | annual budget of $7.2 million in 2009; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, The Normal Fire Department has also undergone many | ||||||
| 19 | improvements during Chief Watson's tenure, including the | ||||||
| 20 | implementation of an increased level of emergency medical | ||||||
| 21 | service provided by the Fire Department, from Basic Life | ||||||
| 22 | Support to Paramedic Life Support; the improvement of Normal's | ||||||
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| 1 | Public Protection Classification rating by the Insurance | ||||||
| 2 | Services Office (ISO) from a "Class 3" to a "Class 2", which | ||||||
| 3 | ranks Normal among 60 other communities in Illinois and 595 | ||||||
| 4 | communities across the United States with a rating of Class 2 | ||||||
| 5 | or better; the implementation of a comprehensive Public | ||||||
| 6 | Education program in the Fire Prevention Division to promote | ||||||
| 7 | fire safety and awareness; the revision of the department | ||||||
| 8 | Vehicle and Equipment Replacement Reserve to plan and fund | ||||||
| 9 | future vehicle and equipment purchases; the development of a | ||||||
| 10 | Technical Rescue Team; the department's participation in the | ||||||
| 11 | Mutual Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) for coordinated mutual aid | ||||||
| 12 | response among Fire Departments throughout the State of | ||||||
| 13 | Illinois; and the construction and staffing of the department's | ||||||
| 14 | third fire station; therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 16 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 17 | congratulate Leland J. Watson on the occasion of his retirement | ||||||
| 18 | and wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it | ||||||
| 19 | further
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| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to Leland Watson as a symbol of our esteem and | ||||||
| 22 | respect.
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