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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to recognize the life of Aaron Stephens | ||||||
| 4 | and his contributions to youth sports; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Aaron Stephens is a retired Chicago public school | ||||||
| 6 | teacher and is currently the director of athletics at the | ||||||
| 7 | Apostolic Church of God; during his 35 years as a physical | ||||||
| 8 | education teacher, he has coached thousands of aspiring | ||||||
| 9 | basketball, baseball, football, and track and field athletes; | ||||||
| 10 | he began his sports career playing on the red sands of Darien, | ||||||
| 11 | Georgia but has created a sports legacy that is nationwide; | ||||||
| 12 | and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Aaron Stephens graduated from Knoxville College | ||||||
| 14 | in 1969 with a Bachelor of Science in Education; while | ||||||
| 15 | attending college, he excelled as an athlete and played | ||||||
| 16 | basketball and baseball; he was drafted to play professional | ||||||
| 17 | baseball but chose to follow his lifelong dream of being an | ||||||
| 18 | educator, accepting his first teaching assignment in Chicago; | ||||||
| 19 | and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Aaron Stephens began his coaching career at | ||||||
| 21 | Wentworth Elementary School, located in the heart of | ||||||
| 22 | Englewood; he began to create sports programs that would | ||||||
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| 1 | inspire students to stay off the streets and out of gangs; he | ||||||
| 2 | insisted that the participants excel academically and stay | ||||||
| 3 | away from gangs, drugs, and alcohol; he enjoyed teaching, but | ||||||
| 4 | his personal mission was to develop athletes to reach their | ||||||
| 5 | personal best and to mentor students; he co-founded numerous | ||||||
| 6 | sports leagues to provide an alternative to the negative | ||||||
| 7 | street life that his students experienced on a daily basis; | ||||||
| 8 | and | ||||||
| 9 | WHEREAS, Aaron Stephens is also a deacon at the Apostolic | ||||||
| 10 | Church of God in Chicago; he initiated the athletic ministry | ||||||
| 11 | at his church, which includes baseball and basketball leagues | ||||||
| 12 | for youth and men as well as other health and fitness programs | ||||||
| 13 | and now serves as the model for hundreds of churches in the | ||||||
| 14 | Illinois District of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World; | ||||||
| 15 | and | ||||||
| 16 | WHEREAS, Aaron Stephens is a leader in his church and his | ||||||
| 17 | home; he is the father of three daughters and, for over 30 | ||||||
| 18 | years, was the husband of Verneda; he is currently married to | ||||||
| 19 | Gwen Harris Stephens; and
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| 20 | WHEREAS, Aaron Stephens was inducted into the Chicago | ||||||
| 21 | Public League Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame on | ||||||
| 22 | May 19, 2018; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Aaron Stephens's coaching career began as a way | ||||||
| 2 | to inspire youth, and he remains as passionate about sports | ||||||
| 3 | and developing youth as he did in his early days; what began as | ||||||
| 4 | a career choice for him has become a sports legacy that will | ||||||
| 5 | continue to inspire young athletes and mentor youth; | ||||||
| 6 | therefore, be it
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| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 8 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 9 | we recognize the life of Aaron Stephens and his contributions | ||||||
| 10 | to youth sports and wish him the best in all of his future | ||||||
| 11 | endeavors; and be it further
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| 12 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy a suitable copy of this | ||||||
| 13 | resolution be presented to Aaron Stephens as a symbol of our | ||||||
| 14 | respect and esteem.
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