Full Text of HR0050 103rd General Assembly
HR0050 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to recognize Mark and Karen DeDecker and | 4 | | family on the occasion of being named the 2023 Family of the | 5 | | Year by the Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA); and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Mark DeDecker and his wife, Karen, are the proud | 7 | | owners of the DeDecker Pork Farm in Cambridge, where they | 8 | | currently farm 2,500 acres of corn and soybeans and market | 9 | | 7,000 hogs annually with their son, Lance; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The DeDecker family history in Henry County goes | 11 | | back over 75 years and spans over three generations, beginning | 12 | | in 1936 when Mark DeDecker's grandparents, Eli and Lucy | 13 | | DeDecker, purchased 160 acres for his 21-year-old father, | 14 | | Marvin; shortly after the purchase, Marvin married Mark's | 15 | | mother, Betty, and they lived and worked on the farm; at the | 16 | | time, as it was not uncommon for a farm to be very diversified, | 17 | | the couple raised cows, chicken, and pigs and grew corn, | 18 | | soybeans, and oat and hay on rotation; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, In the 1970s, the DeDecker family farm was one of | 20 | | the first farms to begin farrowing inside at a time when | 21 | | livestock was primarily raised outdoors and many of their | 22 | | neighbors continued to raise 5,000 to 10,000 head on pasture; |
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| 1 | | their first indoor hog barn was originally a chicken house | 2 | | that once homed 12,000 laying hens; later, their chicken house | 3 | | was disassembled, moved from its original location, and | 4 | | converted into a 40 x 214-foot farrow-to-finish production | 5 | | line building; their original barn and crib used for livestock | 6 | | still stands on the DeDecker Pork Farm today; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, From an early age, Mark DeDecker had a passion | 8 | | for livestock; he participated in 4-H, winning first at the | 9 | | state level and fourth at the national level for 4-H Livestock | 10 | | Judging; he later attended the University of Illinois at | 11 | | Urbana-Champaign, where he was chosen as one of the top five | 12 | | outstanding seniors in the College of Agriculture; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, After receiving his Bachelor of Science and | 14 | | Master of Swine Production, Mark DeDecker's interest in the | 15 | | pork industry became a career when he started farming | 16 | | full-time in 1973; while completing his master's degree, he | 17 | | married Karen DeSmith, who was also born and raised in Henry | 18 | | County; the couple initially resided in Champaign until he | 19 | | finished his master's degree; they then moved back to | 20 | | Cambridge, where he partnered with his father, farming 640 | 21 | | acres and raising 1,000 hogs in a farrow-to-finish operation; | 22 | | while he and his father tended to the farm, Karen was employed | 23 | | at Deere & Company; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Mark and Karen DeDecker started their family and | 2 | | had three children, Jacob, Lance, and Ashley; he became | 3 | | involved in the organizational side of the industry and began | 4 | | serving on the Henry County Pork Producers Board; throughout | 5 | | his career, he has served as a director on the board for over | 6 | | 50 years; during that time, he has held the position of | 7 | | president and scholarship chair, with the latter role giving | 8 | | him the opportunity to award several hundred thousand dollars | 9 | | to deserving students interested in pursuing a career in | 10 | | agriculture; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, When the children were little, Karen DeDecker | 12 | | served as the secretary on the Henry County Fair Board; later, | 13 | | she was a bookkeeper for the Henry and Rock Island County Farm | 14 | | Bureau offices, splitting her time between both; she | 15 | | eventually worked full-time at the Rock Island Farm Bureau, | 16 | | retiring after 16 years of service; while raising the children | 17 | | and working full-time, she continued doing a number of tasks | 18 | | on the farm, including driving the grain cart, loading and | 19 | | moving hogs, and running for parts; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, The entire DeDecker family has remained very | 21 | | active in agriculture, with all of Mark and Karen's children | 22 | | pursuing an agriculture-related career; their son, Jacob, was | 23 | | named the Illinois Pork State Ambassador in 1998; later, he | 24 | | received his Ph.D. and spent 15 years at the Michigan State |
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| 1 | | University Extension, where he served as a presenter and | 2 | | leader to visiting scholars and partnered with countries | 3 | | around the world; he is currently the director of the | 4 | | extension program and associate dean for Engagement at the | 5 | | University of Nevada in Reno; his wife, Kristina, homeschools | 6 | | their four children, Hayven, Isaiah, Zander, and Elijah; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Mark and Karen DeDecker's daughter, Ashley, also | 8 | | earned her Ph.D. and currently works as the director of | 9 | | Production Research for Smithfield Foods, Inc.; throughout her | 10 | | career, she has served on several national committees and | 11 | | speaks at livestock meetings in the U.S. and around the world; | 12 | | her husband, Ashley Weaver, is an Alcohol Law Enforcement | 13 | | Special Agent; they reside in North Carolina with their two | 14 | | children, Conley and Blair; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Mark and Karen DeDecker's other son, Lance, | 16 | | finished his studies at Black Hawk College East Campus and | 17 | | returned to the farm in 2001, where he partnered with his | 18 | | parents; today, he and his wife, Lindsey, live on part of the | 19 | | farm a mile away with their two children, Colt and Chance; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, In addition to Mark DeDecker's leadership role on | 21 | | the Henry County Pork Producers Board, he also served as a | 22 | | district director for the IPPA for nine years; during his | 23 | | tenure as a board member, he served on the youth and research |
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| 1 | | committees; he also served as chairman of the Illinois Pork | 2 | | Expo when the show made the transition to Springfield after | 3 | | being hosted in Peoria for several decades; after stepping | 4 | | down as a district director, he has continued to remain active | 5 | | at the county level; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Mark and Karen DeDecker were named Prairie Farmer | 7 | | Master Farmers in 2016, a prestigious honor that is the | 8 | | longest running recognition for farmers in the country; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, The DeDecker family has been active in several | 10 | | community organizations over the years, with Mark serving on | 11 | | the Henry County Soil & Water Conservation District for 25 | 12 | | years, the Henry County FSA Board and the Cambridge Library | 13 | | Board for nine years, and the Edwards River Board for 10 years; | 14 | | the family also belongs to St. John Vianney Catholic Church; | 15 | | and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The DeDecker family continues to make a lasting | 17 | | impression on their community and the pork industry; Mark and | 18 | | Karen have striven to adapt to changes and grow their business | 19 | | while remaining good stewards of the land and caring for their | 20 | | animals; their involvement in local and state activities has | 21 | | not only led to their success but has also been the foundation | 22 | | for their children's success in agriculture; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 3 | | we recognize Mark and Karen DeDecker and family on being named | 4 | | the 2023 Family of the Year by the Illinois Pork Producers | 5 | | Association (IPPA), and we thank the family for their hard | 6 | | work and dedication to their community and the pork industry; | 7 | | and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 9 | | presented to the Mark and Karen DeDecker as an expression of | 10 | | our esteem and respect.
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