HR0465 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0465 LRB098 12470 GRL 46874 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to recognize the accomplishments of local communities and their commitment to serving their fellow citizens; and

WHEREAS, The Rotary Club of Joliet will celebrate its 100th anniversary on August 3, 2013; and

WHEREAS, Rotary International, the world's first service organization, was founded in Chicago in 1905 and has since grown to include 33,000 clubs and 1.3 million members; and

WHEREAS, Rotary International focuses locally and globally on the goals of peace and conflict resolution, disease prevention and treatment, water and sanitation, maternal and child health, basic education and literacy, and economic and community development, with a special focus on the eradication of polio from the earth; and

WHEREAS, What was to become the Rotary Club of Joliet in 1913, began as the Study Club in 1910; the Study Club's purpose was to study business building, efficiency, and character development; the club's president was John McGuire and the members were John P. Kelly, Edmund H. Lennon, Thomas P. Lennon, Maurice F. Lennon, Joseph McGlynn, Michael J. Ryan, Thomas S. Stoll, Robert P. Kiep, Ambrose Kiep, George Lennon, A.F. Bannon, James F. Hebert, James Ley, Nick J. Freis, and F. B. Murphy; and

WHEREAS, Joliet Rotary was accepted into membership at the Rotary International Convention held in Buffalo, New York and chartered on August 1, 1913, becoming the first Rotary Club from a city of less than 75,000 population; and

WHEREAS, Noon luncheons were started on September 22, 1914, in the Hobbs Cafe; since then, Joliet Rotary has held its luncheon meetings in the Universalist Church parlors, Snapps Cafeteria, the Chamber of Commerce, Masonic Temple, the YMCA, the Woodruff Hotel, the Louis Joliet Hotel, and the Louis Joliet Renaissance Center; and

WHEREAS, Since 1913, the Joliet Rotary Club, by recommendations to Rotary International, has ceded territory as well as helped establish new territories by starting Rotary Clubs in Ottawa (1914), Morris (1915), Kankakee (1915), Streator (1919), LaSalle (1920), DeKalb (1921), Aurora (1923), Manteno (1937), Wilmington (1938), and Lockport (1966); the Club has produced four District Governors, J. Stanley Brown (1918-1919), Rev. Henry E. Rompel (1923-1924), Ralph E. Morgan (1957-1958), and Robert E. Leckrone (1986-1987); and

WHEREAS, In 1987, Rotary International extended membership to women in the United States; at the Conference on Legislation held in Singapore on January 23, 1989, Resolution 8954 was presented by Joliet Rotarian Bob Leckrone, thus officially admitting women into Rotary International; the first women inducted into Joliet Rotary were Mary Jane Broncato, Ruth Calvert Fitzgerald, Carolyn Healy, and Sister Dismas Janssen; and

WHEREAS, Joliet Rotary purchased uniforms and instruments for the start of the Joliet Township High School band, which won State Championships in 1924, 1925, and 1926, National Championships in 1926, 1927, 1928, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1938, and 1940, and gave Joliet the nickname, "City of Champions"; and

WHEREAS, In 1914, Vaughn Brooks, the second president of Joliet Rotary, was responsible for founding the Joliet Chamber of Commerce; and

WHEREAS, In 1915, Joliet Rotary procured Higginbotham Woods for city park property; in 1917, during World War I, Joliet Rotary equipped the "Dandy First" soldiers with shoes and other equipment while they were training at Dellwood Park; in 1930, Joliet Rotary sponsored the first Boy Scout camp at Morris, which is still in existence; later, Joliet Rotary sponsored the first Girl Scout camp at Custer Park; and

WHEREAS, From 1984 to 1988, over $250,000 and in-kind contributions were donated to build the Rotary Sports Complex at the Galowich YMCA on the west side of Joliet; in 1989, Joliet Rotary established a $75,000 endowment fund to maintain the YMCA Sports Field; and

WHEREAS, In 1990, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to Habitat for Humanity to construct two homes; in 1991, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to Will-Grundy Free Medical Clinic for an endowment fund for medications; in 1992, Joliet Rotary donated $26,100 to D-FY-IT drug testing program for local high schools, in 1993, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to purchase equipment to establish a handicapped playground for Easter Seals; in 1994, Joliet Rotary purchased a 15-passenger van for the Salvation Army; in 1995, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to help refurbish facilities for an abused women's shelter; in 1996, Joliet Rotary donated $32,000 to Easter Seals for furnishing a supervisory group home; in 1997, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to United Cerebral Palsy Park for specialized playground equipment; in 1998, Joliet Rotary donated a total of $30,000 for endowed scholarships to be awarded annually by Joliet Junior College, Lewis University, and the University of St. Francis; in 1999, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 for funding of the Will-Grundy Rotary Dental Clinic; in 2000, Joliet Rotary donated $27,400 to Morningstar Mission Ministries for their kitchen renovation project; in 2001, Joliet Rotary divided a $30,000 donation to the Salvation Army for renovation of their kitchen and to the Will County Humane Society for renovation of their facility; in 2002, Joliet Rotary donated a total of $30,000 to the Rotary College Scholarship Program for the scholarship fund established at Lewis University, University of St. Francis, and Joliet Junior College; in 2003, Joliet Rotary donated $30,000 to Joliet Hospice for the construction of a patient room; in 2004, Joliet Rotary donated $14,000 to Lamb's Fold toward a new shower room for the women and children; and

WHEREAS, Thousands of dictionaries are provided by Joliet Rotary to Joliet public and private school 4th graders each year; and

WHEREAS, Countless additional donations of time, talent, and treasure have benefitted the local Joliet community as well as Rotary beneficiaries around the world; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the current and past members of the Rotary Club of Joliet on the occasion of the club's 100th anniversary and thank the members for providing 100 years of service above self; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Rotary Club of Joliet, Illinois, USA as a symbol of our esteem and respect.