Full Text of HR0439 101st General Assembly
HR0439 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate Marcus Lemonis on his | 4 | | successful career as a businessman, philanthropist, and | 5 | | visionary; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Marcus Lemonis, who now calls Illinois home, was | 7 | | born in Beirut, Lebanon during a civil war and foreign invasion | 8 | | in 1973; he was adopted by Leo and Sophia Lemonis, a couple | 9 | | living in Miami, Florida, on July 29, 1974; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Marcus Lemonis was introduced to the automobile | 11 | | industry at a young age by his grandfather, who owned two of | 12 | | the largest Chevrolet dealerships in the United States; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, After working for his grandfather for several | 14 | | years, Marcus Lemonis received an offer from family friend and | 15 | | financial investor Lee Lacocca to start a large recreational | 16 | | vehicle chain; the offer led to a long and successful career in | 17 | | the RV dealership business; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, Marcus Lemonis served as CEO of Holiday RV | 19 | | Superstores Inc. from June 2001 to February 2003; following | 20 | | that, he co-founded FreedomRoads and began acquiring RV | 21 | | dealerships; in 2006, the company merged with Camping World, |
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| 1 | | and he served as CEO; in 2011, he oversaw the company's merger | 2 | | with Good Sam Enterprises; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Under the direction of Marcus Lemonis, Camping | 4 | | World and Good Sam launched Project Good Samaritan as part of | 5 | | their 2013 goal to foster corporate responsibility; the project | 6 | | requires a team of nearly 7,000 employees to volunteer 32 hours | 7 | | per year to causes that are meaningful to them; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, In October 2016, Camping World went public, and | 9 | | the stock was valued at $22 per share, giving it a market value | 10 | | of approximately $2 billion; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Marcus Lemonis' philanthropic efforts include | 12 | | support for the Joffrey Ballet, St. Jude Children's Research | 13 | | Hospital, the Ravinia Festival, Lincoln Park Zoo, the RV/MH | 14 | | Hall of Fame, the Zacharias Sexual Abuse Center, National | 15 | | Voices for Equality, Education, and Enlightenment, New | 16 | | Journey's Transitional Home, and Neat Stuff; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Marcus Lemonis is the host of the CNBC reality | 18 | | show The Profit, which seeks out promising but faltering small | 19 | | businesses; in the show, he invests his own money for part | 20 | | ownership and helps make the businesses profitable; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, In 2007, Marcus Lemonis was named "Newsmaker of |
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| 1 | | the Year" by RV Business Magazine; he is an example of a modern | 2 | | citizen whose humble beginnings show an American Dream | 3 | | realized; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 5 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we congratulate Marcus Lemonis on his successful career and | 7 | | commend his philanthropic work; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to Marcus Lemonis as an expression of our esteem and | 10 | | respect.
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