Full Text of HR0819 98th General Assembly
HR0819 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of W. | 4 | | Russell Withers, Jr. of Mt. Vernon, who passed away on January | 5 | | 24, 2014; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, W. Russell Withers, Jr. was born on December 10, | 7 | | 1936 in Cape Girardeau, Missouri; his parents were W.R. | 8 | | Withers, Sr. and Ruth H. Withers; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, W. Russell Withers, Jr. was the founder of the | 10 | | Withers Broadcasting Companies; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, W. Russell Withers, Jr. was a member of Mt. Vernon | 12 | | Masonic Lodge 31, Scottish Rites/Valley of Southern Illinois in | 13 | | Belleville, the Jefferson County Shrine Club of Mt. Vernon, and | 14 | | Shrine International - AINAD, AINAD Shrine Center, East St. | 15 | | Louis; he was a board member of the Mt. Vernon Convention and | 16 | | Visitors Bureau and the Mt. Vernon Industrial Development | 17 | | Commission; he was a board member and one of the founders of | 18 | | Crime Stoppers of Jefferson County; he served as chairman of | 19 | | the Mt. Vernon Airport Authority and the Illinois Public | 20 | | Airport Association; he was a board member and chairman of the | 21 | | radio board of the National Association of Broadcasters | 22 | | representing Illinois; he was a member of the executive |
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| 1 | | committee and co-chairman of the National Association of | 2 | | Broadcasters Political Action Committee, a national trustee | 3 | | for the organization for the past 20 years, and a leading | 4 | | fundraiser for the organization; he was a member of the | 5 | | Congressional Relations Committee; he was a board member of the | 6 | | Library of American Broadcasting, the Associated Press | 7 | | Broadcast Board, SAGA Communications, and Redlands Water and | 8 | | Power; he was a member of the board of trustees at Lincoln | 9 | | Academy of Illinois in Springfield since 1993 and was elected | 10 | | as Regent by the board in 1998; he was an executive board | 11 | | member of the Boy Scouts of America for Western Colorado; he | 12 | | was also chairman of the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and a | 13 | | board member of the Radio Music License Committee; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, W. Russell Withers, Jr. was the recipient of | 15 | | numerous awards and honors, including the Mt. Vernon Citizen of | 16 | | the Year award, the Wally Jorgensen Award, the Broadcasters | 17 | | Foundation's 2003 American Broadcast Pioneer Award, the | 18 | | Illinois Broadcasters Association's Broadcaster of the Year | 19 | | award, the West Virginia Broadcasters Association's | 20 | | Broadcaster of the Year award, the Heritage Award from the | 21 | | Jefferson County African American Heritage Committee, the | 22 | | Southeast Missouri State University Alumni Merit Award, the | 23 | | Sigma Chi Fraternity Distinguished Significant Sig Award, and | 24 | | the Honor of Order of Lincoln, Illinois highest honor for | 25 | | professional accomplishments and public service; he was also |
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| 1 | | listed in the Who's Who in Finance and Industry, Who's Who in | 2 | | America, Who's Who in Entertainment, and Who's Who in the | 3 | | World; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, W. Russell Withers, Jr. was preceded in death by | 5 | | his parents; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, W. Russell Withers, Jr. is survived by his | 7 | | daughter, Dana R. Withers; his stepson, David Lister; his | 8 | | stepdaughters, Diana Lister and Celeste Hunt; his sister, Lindi | 9 | | W. Janes; and his brothers, Richard Kent Withers, James K. | 10 | | (Pam) Withers, and William J. (Victoria) Withers; therefore, be | 11 | | it
| 12 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 13 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 14 | | we, along with his family and friends, mourn the passing of W. | 15 | | Russell Withers, Jr.; and be it further
| 16 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 | | presented to the family of W. Russell Withers, Jr. as an | 18 | | expression of our sympathy.
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