HR1144 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1144 LRB098 21475 GRL 60089 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Rey B. Gonzalez on the occasion of his retirement from the Commonwealth Edison Company and his new position as the President and Chief Executive Officer of El Valor; and

WHEREAS, Rey Gonzalez served for 16 years with the Commonwealth Edison Company as the Public Affairs Director, where he gained extensive experience in human relations, community, government, and media relations; while serving in this role at ComEd, he spearheaded public relations efforts and corporate contributions programs and was a founding member of ComEd's Diversity Initiative; and

WHEREAS, Rey Gonzalez then joined the McDonald's Corporation in 1998, where he served as Vice-President of Diversity; in that role, his primary responsibilities included the management and development of national external diversity partnerships, including those relating to philanthropy and employment; and

WHEREAS, Rey Gonzalez then joined the Exelon Corporation in 2002 as the Vice-President of Corporate Diversity, where he was responsible for strengthening corporate diversity programs, maximizing supplier/vendor relationships, diversity recruiting and outreach, and strengthening partnerships with internal and external organizations; and

WHEREAS, Rey Gonzalez was appointed as Vice-President of Legislative and Community Affairs at ComEd in August 2006; in that role, he was also involved with Exelon's national external diversity initiatives, including efforts to assist in building and strengthening relationships with the diversity suppliers and community organizations; and

WHEREAS, On September 18, 2013, Rey Gonzalez announced his retirement from ComEd after many years of valuable service and important contributions; and

WHEREAS, Rey Gonzalez has a long history of volunteer community involvement as the chair of both the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute and El Valor as well as a board member of the Illinois Children's Healthcare Foundation and the Puerto Rican Arts Alliance; and

WHEREAS, Rey Gonzalez has received numerous honors and awards for his community involvement, including the Jefferson Award for volunteerism from NBC Channel 5 in Chicago, the Caesar Chavez Community Service Award from the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute, the Leadership Award from the Hispanic Association on Career Enhancement, and the Pepsi-Cola Hispanic Community Leadership Award; and

WHEREAS, Governor's State University has instituted the Rey B. Gonzalez Scholarship Fund in his honor, and El Valor has named a multi-million dollar facility the Rey B. Gonzalez Children and Family Center in recognition of his long-term commitment to the organization; and

WHEREAS, El Valor's mission is to support and challenge urban families to achieve excellence and participate fully in community life through programs that exist to enrich and empower people with disabilities, the disenfranchised and the underserved; it is one of the country's largest Latino-serving community-based organizations; and

WHEREAS, After serving as the chair of El Valor's Board of Directors for 30 years, the Board of Directors has recently named Rey Gonzalez as the President and Chief Executive Officer of El Valor; and

WHEREAS, Rey Gonzalez shares this honor with his wife, Hilda, and their 4 children; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Rey Gonzalez on his retirement from Commonwealth Edison Company and wish him all the best in his new position as the President and Chief Executive Officer of El Valor; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Rey Gonzalez as an expression of our esteem and respect.