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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to
3learn of the death of Mark H. Ayers of Alexandria, Virginia,
4formerly of Peoria, who passed away on April 8, 2012; and
 
5    WHEREAS, He was born on January 22, 1949, in Canton, to
6Edward Charles Ayers and Daunie Darlene Hawks Ayers; he married
7Deborah Selburg in Peoria, on May 24, 1998; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Mark H. Ayers was President of the Building and
9Construction Trades Department, AFL-CIO; prior to becoming
10President of the BCTD, he served for 9 years as the director of
11the Construction and Maintenance Department at the
12International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW); he was
13also a member of IBEW Local 34 in Peoria, since 1973, which he
14headed as business manager for 9 years; and
 
15    WHEREAS, He was co-founder and chairman of the Central
16Illinois Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors
17Association-IBEW Local 34 Quality Connection; he was appointed
18to the National Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee; he
19served as a trustee and chairman of the NECA-IBEW Welfare and
20Pension Trust Funds; and he was a member of the board and on
21the executive committee of the Peoria Area Labor Management
22Council and the Labor Management Cooperative Health Program;

 

 

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1and
 
2    WHEREAS, During his years with Local 34 and the
3West-Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades
4Council, he also served on the Board of Directors of the Peoria
5Chapter of the American Red Cross, and was appointed by the
6Mayor of the City of Peoria to serve on the Peoria Civic Center
7Authority; he worked with the Junior League of Peoria to build
8the Tri-Centennial Playground in Glen Oak Park commemorating
9the 300th birthday of the founding of Peoria; and
 
10    WHEREAS, He was also instrumental in organizing 2 major
11Labor Management committees in the Peoria area, including the
12Peoria Area Labor Management (PALM) group which brought all
13area unions and companies together including Caterpillar and
14the UAW, and the Tri-County Construction labor management
15committee, which brings all the building trades unions and
16their respective contractors and associations together in a
17positive Labor-Management setting; and
 
18    WHEREAS, He attended the George Meany Institute for Labor
19Studies, the University of Wisconsin, and the University of
20Illinois Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations; he also
21served in the United States Navy as an aviator during the
22Vietnam war era, and his commitment and devotion to our
23nation's military veterans was amplified through his direct

 

 

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1involvement with the "Helmets to Hardhats" program, serving as
2president of the AFL-CIO Union Veterans Council and through his
3support of the Education Center of the Vietnam Veterans
4Memorial Fund; and
 
5    WHEREAS, He was appointed by President Barack Obama to
6serve on the Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear
7Future; he also served as chairman of the National Coordinating
8Committee for Multi Employer Plans and on the Board of
9Directors of the Diabetes Research Institute; he was
10Secretary-Treasurer of the Union Labor Life Insurance Company
11and a Chairman of the Center for Construction Education and
12Research CPWR; he was on the Board of Trustees for the AFL-CIO
13Housing Investment Trust and was Labor Co-Chair for the Helmets
14to Hardhats Program; he served on the Board of Directors of the
15Nuclear Energy Institute and on the Board of Trustees of the
16National Labor College; and he was on the Board of Directors of
17the Elderly Housing Development and Operations Corporation
18(EHDOC); and
 
19    WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his father, Edward
20Charles Ayers; and his stepfather, John Taylor; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Mark Ayers is survived by his wife, Deborah
22Selburg Ayers; his mother, Daunie Hawks Ayers Taylor; his
23brother, Edward Kent (Nancy) Ayers; his daughters, Aimee Ayers

 

 

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1(Bill) Mansfield and Tami (Bill) Lamprecht; his grandchildren,
2Carlee, Porter, Brenin, Tatym, Taryn, and Taylor; and several
3nieces and nephews; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL
5ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with
6his family and friends, the passing of Mark Ayers; and be it
7further
 
8    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9presented to the family of Mark Ayers as a symbol of our
10sincere sympathy.