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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, German-Bliss Equipment is celebrating the 75th | ||||||
| 3 | anniversary of its founding as the L.E. German Implement | ||||||
| 4 | Company in Princeville; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, L. E. "Lou" German moved his family to Peoria from | ||||||
| 6 | Paducah, Kentucky in the hopes of finding work, proving | ||||||
| 7 | himself, and taking care of his family, resulting in landing a | ||||||
| 8 | job with R. G. Letourneau and eventually the Allis Chalmers | ||||||
| 9 | Machinery Company; Lou German followed his dream of selling | ||||||
| 10 | farm equipment from his own business, setting up shop on his | ||||||
| 11 | own in the spring of 1940; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, The L.E. German Implement Company started by | ||||||
| 13 | selling Allis Chalmers equipment from a rented store front; the | ||||||
| 14 | company eventually moved to their own land and began a pattern | ||||||
| 15 | of diversifying with Massey-Harris, Ferguson, and eventually | ||||||
| 16 | Massey-Ferguson in the late 1950s; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Lou German's oldest son, Bill, moved on to another | ||||||
| 18 | opportunity, which allowed the younger brother, Chuck, to take | ||||||
| 19 | a larger role and diversify the company even further; he | ||||||
| 20 | obtained the Ford Tractor franchise, opened a new branch in | ||||||
| 21 | Peoria, became a State of Illinois certified truck testing | ||||||
| 22 | facility, and recognized the potential of Kubota Tractors, | ||||||
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| 1 | which enabled the company to become the oldest and largest | ||||||
| 2 | dealer of Kubota in Illinois; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, The L.E. German Implement Company continued to | ||||||
| 4 | expand and opened another branch in East Peoria; Chuck German | ||||||
| 5 | was also honored by being elected as the President of the North | ||||||
| 6 | American Equipment Dealers Association, one of the longest | ||||||
| 7 | running trade organizations in North America; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Lou German found himself being led to Jesus Christ | ||||||
| 9 | in the late 1930s, which changed the course of his family; | ||||||
| 10 | through Chuck's leadership, this led to the purchase of the | ||||||
| 11 | Bliss Implement Company in 2000 and forming what is now | ||||||
| 12 | German-Bliss Equipment; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Chuck German and his wife, Kathy, have been | ||||||
| 14 | blessed with a daughter, Gretchen, who is involved in 4 Kubota | ||||||
| 15 | dealerships in the Cincinnati, Ohio area, and 3 sons, Jeff, | ||||||
| 16 | David, and Greg; Jeff is a missionary in Thailand with Wycliffe | ||||||
| 17 | Bible Translators, David is a primary care physician in | ||||||
| 18 | Glasgow, Kentucky, and Greg serves as the President of | ||||||
| 19 | German-Bliss Equipment; therefore, be it
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| 20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 21 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 22 | congratulate the owners of German-Bliss Equipment on the | ||||||
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| 1 | occasion of its 75th anniversary and on its commitment to | ||||||
| 2 | central Illinois and the communities they serve, including | ||||||
| 3 | Princeville, East Peoria, and now Springfield; and be it | ||||||
| 4 | further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | presented to Greg German, President of German-Bliss Equipment, | ||||||
| 7 | Inc.
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