HR0320 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0320 LRB094 11980 CSA 44911 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce has named Philip "Mike" Beard as its 2005 Citizen of the Year; and

WHEREAS, The award will be presented at the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce annual dinner on Friday, April 15, 2005, at the Holiday Inn in Mt. Vernon; and

WHEREAS, Originally from southeast Missouri, Mr. Beard grew up in Dexter, Missouri; after graduating from Bloomfield High School in 1964, he attended college; in 1966, he was drafted into the U.S. Army and served until 1968; after being discharged from the military, he returned to college and, in 1972, graduated from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Secondary Education; and

WHEREAS, His first job out of college was at Mingo Job Corp., in Puxico, Missouri, where he taught Driver Education and Remedial Reading; two years later, he entered the insurance industry, going to work with Farmers insurance Group as a claims adjuster; on May 1, 2004, he celebrated 30 years in the insurance industry; during those 30 years, he has worked in numerous facets of the insurance industry; he and his wife, along with two others partners, opened the Insurance Store Regional Agency, Inc., in Mt. Vernon on August 1, 1998; Mr. Beard and his wife bought the agency in June of 2000 and the independent insurance agency, now known as Brooke Insurance, is in its sixth year and represents numerous financially strong, nationally known, insurance companies; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Beard and his wife of 34 years, Sharon, have two daughters, Sarah (husband Byron) and Stefanie (husband Jason), and four grandchildren, Grant, Kennedy, Jakob, and Caden; and

WHEREAS, He and his wife are both members of the First United Methodist Church; Mr. Beard has served as the Chairperson of the Church Administrative Board, the Finance Committee, and was a member of their remodeling committee; he has served on the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce board, has chaired numerous committees, and was President in 2002-2003; he presently is a member of the Chamber's Past Presidents and Internal Affairs committees; and

WHEREAS, An active member of the Mt. Vernon Rotary Club, Mr. Beard served as its President in 1999-2000; he then served as an Assistant District Governor for Southern Illinois Rotary Clubs from 2000-2003; he is also a member of the Mt. Vernon Elks Lodge #819, on the Board of Directors of the Downtown Development Corporation where he serves as the Vice-President of the Promotions committee, was recently recognized by the Register-News as one of the Jefferson Counties 100 All-Stars 2004, and was the Chairperson for the 2004 Jefferson County United Way Campaign; he was also a member of the Mt. Vernon Vision 2008 committee; and

WHEREAS, Professionally, Mr. Beard is a member of the Professional Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois and Independent Insurance Agents of America, and is active with their Political Action Committees on the State and National level; his greatest professional award came in 1994 when he received the John Edward Hutton Award; the award was presented to him by his employer, Farmers Insurance Group, for his outstanding accomplishments as a scholar, his leadership in the field of insurance education, and for his continuing encouragement and assistance to others in their pursuit of professional excellence; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we commend Philip "Mike" Beard on being named as the 2005 Citizen of the Year by the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and thank him for his community-enriching contributions; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Mike Beard as an expression of our congratulations and best wishes for continued success.