Full Text of SR0465 97th General Assembly
SR0465 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of
Stan Bergstein, who passed away on | 4 | | November 2, 2011; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was born in Pottsville, | 6 | | Pennsylvania; he served his country with pride as a member of | 7 | | the United States Army during World War II, walking onto Omaha | 8 | | Beach a few days after the Normandy invasion and engaging in | 9 | | combat; after his discharge, he enrolled in Northwestern | 10 | | University's Medill School of Journalism; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, After graduating from Northwestern, Stan | 12 | | Bergstein became a track announcer at Maywood Park, which | 13 | | inaugurated pari-mutuel harness racing in Illinois in 1946; in | 14 | | 1948, he was hired by Abe Saperstein to work as an announcer | 15 | | and publicist for the Harlem Globetrotters, traveling | 16 | | throughout America and abroad with the team for 5 years; he | 17 | | also worked as a race secretary and track announcer at | 18 | | Sportsman's Park; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In 1961, Stan Bergstein left Sportsman's Park to | 20 | | become executive vice president of Harness Tracks of America, | 21 | | where he remained until his retirement in February of 2011; in | 22 | | 1968, he added the title of vice president of publicity and |
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| 1 | | public relations for the U.S. Trotting Association, the | 2 | | governing body of the standardbred sport; he also served as | 3 | | editor of the USTA's award-winning monthly magazine, | 4 | | HoofBeats; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was a staunch advocate of forging | 6 | | closer ties between standardbred and thoroughbred racing, most | 7 | | notably in regards to medication abuse and drug testing; he | 8 | | began writing a column for the thoroughbred publication Daily | 9 | | Racing Form in 1948; he continued to contribute columns to the | 10 | | publication until September of 2011; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was the announcer for harness | 12 | | racing's 2 premier events, working 2 years at the Little Brown | 13 | | Jug and 17 years at the Hambletonian; he also inaugurated the | 14 | | World Driving Championship, a yearly series of races involving | 15 | | harness drivers from the U.S. and Europe with competition on | 16 | | both continents; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was the only person to be inducted | 18 | | into both the Harness Racing Hall of Fame and its Communicators | 19 | | Hall of Fame; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein will be honored by the United | 21 | | States Harness Writers Association for his many lifetime | 22 | | achievements in the harness racing industry at its 2012 awards |
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| 1 | | dinner in Orlando, Florida on February 12, 2012; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was preceded in death by his wife; | 3 | | and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein is survived by his son, Al; his | 5 | | daughter, Lisa Bergstein Tremback; and his 4 grandsons; | 6 | | therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | 8 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | 9 | | his family and friends, the passing of Stan Bergstein; and be | 10 | | it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to the family of Stan Bergstein as an expression of | 13 | | our sympathy.
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