Full Text of HR1210 98th General Assembly
HR1210 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Pastor J.C. Smith | 4 | | on the 50th anniversary of his ministry; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Smith is a native of Montgomery, Alabama; | 6 | | while there, he worked with Dr. M.L. King and Dr. Ralph | 7 | | Abernathy from 1955-1957 in the Montgomery Improvement | 8 | | Association during the bus boycott; he also worked as an | 9 | | insurance salesman for North Carolina Mutual from 1958-1962 and | 10 | | was the owner and operator of Smith's Clothing Store; in 1963, | 11 | | he moved to Harvey and became a licensed real estate salesman | 12 | | with the Blake Realty Company; he also became a journeyman | 13 | | carpenter and worked for 10 years for several general | 14 | | contractors before forming his own remodeling business; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, In 1964, Pastor Smith accepted his call to preach | 16 | | and enrolled in the Chicago Baptist Institute Seminary, | 17 | | graduating in 1972; he was a founding member of the Bethlehem | 18 | | Temple Baptist Church in Harvey in 1969 and has served as its | 19 | | pastor since its inception; under his leadership, the church | 20 | | has experienced phenomenal growth and is a staple in the south | 21 | | suburbs and the greater Chicago area; in June of 2001, he | 22 | | extended the ministry to the northwest suburbs, and, in October | 23 | | of 2003, Bethlehem Temple Baptist Church moved into its own |
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| 1 | | building in Elk Grove Village; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In the spring of 2002, Pastor Smith received | 3 | | special recognition from the YMCA for community service at its | 4 | | annual "Night Under the Stars", and, in July 2002, he was | 5 | | presented with an honorary doctorate degree from the Mt. Carmel | 6 | | Theological Seminary in Fresno, California; he has been listed | 7 | | in Who's Who Among Black Americans (1977-1978) (1980-1981) and | 8 | | has received numerous awards for his service to his country, | 9 | | community, and church; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Smith and the church have operated a summer | 11 | | day camp for the past 8 years for children ages 4-15; in 2001, | 12 | | the first summer basketball camp was held; in 1995, the | 13 | | Bethlehem Community Development Corporation was organized with | 14 | | him as executive director, and under the BCDC, the Bethlehem | 15 | | Village Housing Complex, a 72-unit building (which is now 100% | 16 | | occupied), was built across the street from the church; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Smith served as president of the | 18 | | Progressive Baptist State Congress from 1996 to 1999, while | 19 | | also serving as vice-president of the South Suburban Ministers | 20 | | Fellowship; he has served as president of the Progressive | 21 | | National Baptist Convention Moderators Council for 4 years from | 22 | | 1992 to 1996, and, in 2003, he was elected and served as | 23 | | president of the Progressive Baptist State Convention of |
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| 1 | | Illinois until 2007; for over 40 years, he served his community | 2 | | as a school board member (Dist. #147), and for 20 of those | 3 | | years, he served as president; he currently serves as president | 4 | | of the board; he has also served 2 years as vice-president of | 5 | | the National Caucus of Black School Board members from 1980 to | 6 | | 1982; in August of 2000, he was a delegate to the Democratic | 7 | | National Convention in Los Angeles, California; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Smith served in the military from 1951 to | 9 | | 1953 and graduated from the Weaver's School of Real Estate in | 10 | | 1958; he is married to Willie M. Myricks-Smith, and, on June 3, | 11 | | 2011, they celebrated their 55th year of marriage; he is a | 12 | | father of 5 children, Jennifer, Jonathan, Jeffrey, Jerrold, and | 13 | | Jacques, and a grandfather of 14; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 16 | | we congratulate Pastor J.C. Smith on the 50th anniversary of | 17 | | his ministry and wish him many more years; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to Pastor Smith as an expression of our esteem and | 20 | | respect.
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