HR0475 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0475 LRB098 12527 MST 46948 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Nick Curley of Chicago on receiving the 2013 Hearts & Hugs Youth Advocate Award; and

WHEREAS, This year's award was given to Nick Curley due to the success of his project to raise awareness for epilepsy and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP); each year, as part of an annual family tradition, he would tell his parents what kind of volunteer project he wanted to participate in to help others; he is 8 years old and has just completed the 3rd grade at Immaculate Conception School; and

WHEREAS, For his most recent project, Nick Curley decided to combine the 3 things he loves the most: skating on a hockey rink, helping others, and having fun; he and his parents coordinated a plan for him to ice skate 100 miles, 5 miles at a time, at 20 ice rinks around the State; he kicked off his journey with 5 miles on the rink of the Glenview Stars, his home ice; and

WHEREAS, Nick Curley skated with teams ranging from Loyola Academy and Barrington High School to the Rockford Ice Hogs; he skated at the Allstate Arena, the United Center, and Soldier Field, where he took a victory lap during the College Hockey Classic in February 2013; NHL hall-of-famer Denis Savard joined him for miles 46 through 50 and Congressman Mike Quigley skated with him twice; and

WHEREAS, Nick Curley's skating campaign received national exposure; he was featured in an article on Yahoo! Sports and was involved in stories on CBS Chicago News and NBC Chicago News; and

WHEREAS, Nick Curley completed his 1,000th lap during the intermission of a Chicago Wolves game; he raised nearly $40,000 for the Danny Did Foundation, an organization whose goals are advancing awareness of SUDEP and mainstreaming seizure detection and seizure prediction devices that may assist in preventing deaths caused by seizures; and

WHEREAS, Nick Curley's success was due in part to a great team around him that supported him at every step of the way, including his parents, Laura and Brian; his coaches, Kevin Delaney and Rob Emme; and his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Sonnefeldt; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Nick Curley on receiving the 2013 Hearts & Hugs Youth Advocate Award; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Nick Curley as an expression of our esteem and respect.