HR0576 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0576 LRB094 12871 CSA 47719 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Chief Gerald "Jerry" Ward has retired after 50 years of service with the Bethany Fire and Ambulance Protection District; and

WHEREAS, Chief Ward was voted into the Bethany Fire District in 1955 to spend more time with his father, Virgil Ward, who was the first fire chief of the Bethany Fire Protection District; and

WHEREAS, In 1956, he was appointed Assistant Fire Chief, a position he held until 1982; and

WHEREAS, In 1974, the Bethany Ambulance District was established; that same year, Gerald Ward took the EMTA classes offered at Decatur Memorial Hospital and became an EMT; he continued to serve as an EMT until his retirement; and

WHEREAS, In 1982, he was appointed Fire Chief of the Bethany Fire Protection District; and

WHEREAS, In addition to serving as Fire Chief, he was employed at Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Decatur where he held the position of shift supervisor; he was responsible for fire fighting, fire prevention, and maintaining plant fire equipment; in 1993, he was promoted to Assistant Department Manager; he retired from Firestone in September of 1995; and

WHEREAS, Chief Ward has shown himself to be a very dependable and dedicated individual, and the residents of Bethany are grateful for his service to the community; and

WHEREAS, He and his wife, Kay, have one son, Terry; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Chief Gerald Ward on the occasion of his retirement from Bethany Fire and Ambulance Protection District, we thank him for his many years of outstanding public service, and we wish him all the best in his retirement; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Chief Gerald Ward as an expression of our admiration and esteem.