Full Text of HR1042 100th General Assembly
HR1042 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to honor and celebrate
the life of Thomas | 4 | | "Tom" Waid Vanderpoel; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel was born on February 10, 1951 to | 6 | | Waid and Ruth
Vanderpoel; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Graduating from Barrington High School in 1969, | 8 | | Tom Vanderpoel and his four brothers
developed an appreciation | 9 | | for wildlife and conservation thanks to their parents; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Following high school, Tom Vanderpoel went on to | 11 | | study wildlife biology at the
University of Wyoming; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, Returning to the Barrington area after his | 13 | | studies, Tom Vanderpoel followed in his
father's footsteps and | 14 | | became actively involved in the Citizens for Conservation, | 15 | | ultimately
taking on the role of Director of Restoration; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel became widely recognized for the | 17 | | many native restoration efforts he
led in the Barrington area, | 18 | | part of a vision to create a series of high-quality habitats | 19 | | and pathways
to connect preserves throughout the area to allow | 20 | | wildlife to flourish; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The countless hours Tom Vanderpoel spent planning | 2 | | future restoration tasks,
encouraging volunteers, and doing | 3 | | the hard physical labor of digging, burning, and picking is | 4 | | seen
today in the transformation of the formerly fallow, weed | 5 | | filled fields at Grigsby Prairie and Flint
Creek Savanna that | 6 | | now thrive with seas of native grasses; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel's spearheading of local | 8 | | initiatives has restored and preserved more than
3,500 acres of | 9 | | natural habitat in the Barrington area; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Although he never sought leadership positions, | 11 | | Tom Vanderpoel's abilities were
constantly sought by leading | 12 | | ecologists, leading to his participation in many more | 13 | | restoration
efforts throughout Illinois and Wisconsin; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Despite the many overtures for his services, | 15 | | including by the Nature Conservancy,
which is a leading | 16 | | international conservation organization, Tom Vanderpoel | 17 | | remained passionately
focused on local conservation projects | 18 | | and education; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel's contribution is not only seen in | 20 | | restoration projects, he shared his
expertise freely and kindly | 21 | | to both educate and inspire young and old alike; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel shared this knowledge and worked | 2 | | collaboratively with the Nature
Conservancy's Volunteer | 3 | | Stewardship Network, the Bobolink Foundation, Audubon Great
| 4 | | Lakes, the Lake County Forest Preserve, the Forest Preserve | 5 | | District of Cook County, and
member organizations of Chicago | 6 | | Wilderness; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, Although Tom Vanderpoel never pursued personal | 8 | | accolades or recognition, he received
numerous awards for both | 9 | | his volunteerism and his restoration work, notably being named | 10 | | the
2009 Citizen of the Year by the Barrington Area Development | 11 | | Council and receiving the
inaugural Excellence in Conservation | 12 | | Award from Chicago Wilderness in 2004, an honor he
cherished; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Those who knew and volunteered and worked | 15 | | alongside Tom Vanderpoel saw his passion
and willingness to | 16 | | teach others as an inspiration to all, thus he was called a | 17 | | "conservation
luminary" by a colleague for his lasting | 18 | | contribution to his community; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Tom Vanderpoel passed away unexpectedly on August | 20 | | 8, 2017 at the age of 66, but his
work has left a lasting | 21 | | impression for decades to come; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 | | honor and celebrate the life
of Tom Vanderpoel for his many | 4 | | years of dedicated service to his community, the Citizens for
| 5 | | Conservation, and natural restoration; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to the family of Tom
Vanderpoel as an expression of | 8 | | our esteem and respect.
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