Full Text of HR1201 94th General Assembly
HR1201 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | 3 |
| State of Illinois are pleased to congratulate Ms. Roberta H. | 4 |
| Buchanan on the occasion of her retirement; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, Ms. Buchanan holds a Bachelor of History from | 6 |
| Bethany College, a Master of History from Rutgers University, | 7 |
| and a Master of Public Administration from the University of | 8 |
| Pittsburgh; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Ms. Buchanan worked as the executive director of | 10 |
| the Howard Area Community Center, a private, not-for-profit, | 11 |
| community-based youth and family agency serving Chicago's | 12 |
| diverse north side, for over 12 years; she began her employment | 13 |
| with the Howard Area Community Center in 1993 as the | 14 |
| organization's associate director; she served in her post with | 15 |
| dedication for nearly 13 years and during this time the | 16 |
| organization has grown to serve approximately 5,000 | 17 |
| individuals each year; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS, Since she assumed leadership, several new | 19 |
| programs have been added, while existing programs have been | 20 |
| expanded to help meet the needs of low-income individuals and | 21 |
| families in Rogers Park; her work included, but was not limited | 22 |
| to: maintaining the stability and quality of the agency; | 23 |
| overall direction, supervision, and evaluation of agency | 24 |
| staff; program planning and development; and the | 25 |
| representation of the agency to the larger community, sponsors, | 26 |
| and other agencies; and | 27 |
| WHEREAS, One of her major achievements at the Howard Area | 28 |
| Community Center was the expansion of services to young | 29 |
| children and their families; the agency opened a Head Start | 30 |
| classroom to provide early childhood education to preschool | 31 |
| children; this program and other early childhood programs have |
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| achieved accreditation from the National Association for the | 2 |
| Education of Young Children; she also coordinated the addition | 3 |
| of an intensive home visiting program for teen parents; and
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| WHEREAS, Motivated by her belief that young people should | 5 |
| have the tools they need to succeed, Ms. Buchanan brought an | 6 |
| alternative high school to the Rogers Park community that | 7 |
| offered GED programs, as well as a full curriculum that was | 8 |
| able to grant high school diplomas; this alternative high | 9 |
| school became accredited in 2005 by the North Central | 10 |
| Association, certifying that its programs met recognized | 11 |
| standards of excellence; and
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| WHEREAS, Adults in the Rogers Park community have also | 13 |
| benefited from Ms. Buchanan's efforts through expanded | 14 |
| programs; in 2002 the Howard Area Community Center opened an | 15 |
| employment resource center for adults on the job market who | 16 |
| wanted to become better prepared for the workforce; about 400 | 17 |
| adult learners participate annually in a large and growing | 18 |
| number of adult education classes such as GED preparation and | 19 |
| English as a Second Language; and
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| WHEREAS, She is a Charlotte Goldberg Citizen of the Year | 21 |
| and an active community member who is committed to organizing | 22 |
| as a community-building strategy; she has been an active member | 23 |
| of several community groups such as Chicago Prevention | 24 |
| Providers, Jane Addams, and Common Cause; she has collaborated | 25 |
| with other neighborhood organizations and community leaders to | 26 |
| address critical concerns such as the need for affordable | 27 |
| housing and child care, improvements in education, and greater | 28 |
| employment opportunities; and
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| WHEREAS, Due to her leadership, the Howard Area Community | 30 |
| Center has been recognized on numerous occasions for excellence | 31 |
| in management and services; she has laid a strong foundation | 32 |
| for this organization to build upon in the future as it |
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| continues to serve the residents of Rogers Park; and
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| WHEREAS, As Ms. Buchanan leaves the Howard Area Community | 3 |
| Center, it is certain that she will continue to be a leader in | 4 |
| the community; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 6 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 |
| we congratulate Roberta Buchanan on the occasion of her | 8 |
| retirement from her position at Howard Area Community Center, | 9 |
| and we thank her for her many years of dedication to helping | 10 |
| her fellow citizens; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 |
| presented to her as an expression of our esteem and with best | 13 |
| wishes for all of her future endeavors.
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