Full Text of HR0798 99th General Assembly
HR0798 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate James "Jim" Craft on the | 4 | | occasion of his retirement after many years of service in | 5 | | agricultural education; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft is the son of Robert and Patricia (nee | 7 | | Tankersley) Craft; he is the third of 6 children and his family | 8 | | lived on the outskirts of Alton while he was a child; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft's family moved to Assumption when he was | 10 | | in the third grade; he completed his education in the | 11 | | Assumption school system, graduating in 1971; he took | 12 | | agriculture classes at Assumption High School and was an active | 13 | | member of the FFA; he raised and sold domestic rabbits and | 14 | | raised a sizable garden, selling fresh vegetables and popcorn | 15 | | in the community; he also worked at his uncle's garage, | 16 | | learning to repair tractors, grain trucks, and automobiles; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft served for 2 terms as the FFA Chapter | 18 | | Secretary; he was on the State Winning Poultry team in 1971 and | 19 | | represented Illinois in the National Poultry Contest; he was | 20 | | also named second place individual in the National Poultry | 21 | | Contest; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft entered the University of Illinois in | 2 | | the fall of 1971 and was recruited to the University of | 3 | | Illinois Poultry Judging team; the team represented the College | 4 | | of Agriculture in contests in Tennessee, Arkansas, and North | 5 | | Carolina; he earned his bachelor's degree from the College of | 6 | | Agriculture in 1975; that fall, he entered graduate school at | 7 | | Southern Illinois University, where he completed the course | 8 | | work necessary to receive his teacher's certification; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft was named to the Phi Kappa Phi honors | 10 | | fraternity; during the spring of 1976, he was a student teacher | 11 | | in Patoka; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft was hired at Bluffs High School and | 13 | | began his teaching career in the fall of 1976; he had the | 14 | | opportunity to work with many students during his years at | 15 | | Bluffs and enjoyed strong community support; along with seeing | 16 | | several students achieve their State FFA Degree, he had the | 17 | | pleasure to see 2 students serve as major State FFA officers; | 18 | | and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft served on various Illinois Association | 20 | | of Vocational Agriculture Teachers (IAVAT) committees; he went | 21 | | on to serve as the Chairman of the IAVAT Judging Contest | 22 | | Committee; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft was named IAVAT's Outstanding Young | 2 | | Member in 1980; he served as Section 15 Chairman for 2 terms | 3 | | and went on to serve as District III Director; he was elected | 4 | | Vice President of the IAVAT in June of 1987 and served as the | 5 | | 1988-1989 IAVAT President; he also served the profession by | 6 | | representing Region IV in the National Vocational Agriculture | 7 | | Teachers' Association's (NVATA) Contest Advisory Committee and | 8 | | served on the NVATA Legislative Task Force for 4 years; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft holds life membership in the Illinois | 10 | | Association of Vocational Agriculture Teachers, the National | 11 | | Association of Agricultural Educators, the Illinois | 12 | | Association for Career and Technical Education, and the | 13 | | Association for Career and Technical Education, as well as the | 14 | | FFA Alumni; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Bluffs Community Schools were Jim Craft's only | 16 | | teaching assignments; he remained there until January of 1990, | 17 | | when he was employed by the IAVAT Administrative Council to | 18 | | serve as the IAVAT Executive Director and the Illinois FFA | 19 | | Executive Secretary; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft served on the National FFA Board of | 21 | | Directors and was involved in the FFA's decision to move the | 22 | | National FFA Center and relocate the National FFA Convention; | 23 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft has twice served as a delegate | 2 | | coordinator for the National FFA; he has held a key role on | 3 | | several National FFA committees, including the National | 4 | | Chapter Award revision committee and the Agriculture Science | 5 | | committee; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft has been honored with the Honorary | 7 | | Chapter FFA Degree from Bluffs FFA members, an Honorary State | 8 | | FFA Degree from the Illinois FFA members, and an Honorary | 9 | | American Degree when he retired from the National FFA Board of | 10 | | Directors; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft went on to serve a 2-year term as the | 12 | | Eastern Region Vice President for the National Association of | 13 | | Supervisors of Agricultural Education; he currently serves as | 14 | | the SAE Chairman for the National FFA Organization; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In his spare time, Jim Craft enjoys working on his | 16 | | family genealogy; he also enjoys traveling and many outdoor | 17 | | activities, including hunting, fishing, and hiking; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft will receive the 2015 VIP Citation for | 19 | | the National FFA Organization and the Lifetime Achievement | 20 | | Award from the National Association of Agricultural Educators | 21 | | as a special project of the National FFA Foundation; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Jim Craft serves as an example of a hard work, | 2 | | passion, and dedication; his work throughout his career has | 3 | | benefited many in the agriculture community; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 6 | | thank and congratulate Jim Craft for his many years of service | 7 | | and wish him all the best in his future endeavors; and be it | 8 | | further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | presented to Jim Craft as an expression of our congratulations | 11 | | and appreciation for a job well done.
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