Full Text of HR0676 94th General Assembly
HR0676 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0676 |
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LRB094 14730 RAS 49699 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Knights of Columbus Mattoon Council No. 1057 | 3 |
| is celebrating its 100th Diamond Jubilee Anniversary this year; | 4 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, The Knights of Columbus Mattoon Council No. 1057 | 6 |
| (Council) was granted a charter by the Supreme Council of New | 7 |
| Haven, Connecticut, on November 26, 1905; on that day, an | 8 |
| initiation was held and a charter class of fifty members was | 9 |
| received into the order; from its very first meeting to the | 10 |
| present time, the Council's records of meetings give evidence | 11 |
| of its years of assistance to others; and
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| WHEREAS, The Council has upheld the highest standards of | 13 |
| dedication in providing service to its church, its community, | 14 |
| and its nation for a century; following the formation of the | 15 |
| Council, the new members worked to increase their ranks and to | 16 |
| put into practice the principals of Columbianism, which are | 17 |
| unity, fraternity, charity, and patriotism, in Immaculate | 18 |
| Conception Parish and in the Mattoon community; and
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| WHEREAS, In early years, the Matoon Council was confronted | 20 |
| with the problems common to many at the time, such as racial | 21 |
| bigotry and religious intolerance; in the early 1900s, the | 22 |
| Knights were in the forefront proclaiming the brotherhood of | 23 |
| all men and put into practice the Christian ideals of racial | 24 |
| understanding and religious tolerance; the Knights again took | 25 |
| the lead in the 1930s in trying to alleviate the suffering of | 26 |
| many in the community, as members concentrated on helping the | 27 |
| priests of the parish with many of the functions and in taking | 28 |
| leadership posts when school or parish projects were | 29 |
| undertaken; and
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| WHEREAS, As World War II progressed, the Council started | 31 |
| its blood donor project, which is still one of its most |
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| important continuing projects; the Mattoon Council also became | 2 |
| more active in other areas, such as polio fund drives, numerous | 3 |
| youth programs, and school and church renovation projects; it | 4 |
| was also during this time that the Council answered the call of | 5 |
| the Bishops to aid and assist the Newman Program for students | 6 |
| in public colleges and universities, which has grown to become | 7 |
| the number one priority project in the State, with the Council | 8 |
| now raising over $1,300 per year for this vital program; and
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| WHEREAS, Following the war, the Council was instrumental in | 10 |
| providing and erecting the war memorial for the deceased | 11 |
| servicemen from the Mattoon community that still stands in | 12 |
| front of the Mattoon City Hall along with the eternal flame; in | 13 |
| the 1950s, the Council took on important leadership roles in | 14 |
| fundraising projects for St. Mary's School and St. Joseph | 15 |
| School of Immaculate Conception parish and implemented more | 16 |
| family related activities; in the 1960s, the Council joined | 17 |
| with the Knights of Columbus nationwide and made a greater | 18 |
| commitment to help the young people of its parish by | 19 |
| participating in activities such as teaching CCD classes, | 20 |
| assisting Boy Scout groups and similar organizations, and | 21 |
| providing various social functions for the youth; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1971, a seemingly small project of selling | 23 |
| "Tootsie Rolls" in order to raise a few dollars for programs | 24 |
| for the mentally handicapped was adopted by the Council; few | 25 |
| realized at the time how this project would grow to become one | 26 |
| of the continuing activities of the Council involving the | 27 |
| enthusiastic participation of the majority of its members and | 28 |
| an annual goal of nearly $10,000, with almost $250,000 raised | 29 |
| over the past 34 years; and
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| WHEREAS, Over the past quarter of the century, the Council | 31 |
| has sponsored and organized the Annual Knights of Columbus | 32 |
| Picnic on the Immaculate Conception Church grounds, which has | 33 |
| become quite a successful event, as it provides a venue for all |
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| of the parish organizations to participate and raise funds for | 2 |
| their individual causes; the Council has also been nationally | 3 |
| recognized numerous times by being awarded the Star Council | 4 |
| Award, the highest award granted by the Supreme Council and | 5 |
| four members of the Council have been elected to the Hall of | 6 |
| Fame of the Springfield Diocese Chapter of the Knights of | 7 |
| Columbus; and
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| WHEREAS, The Council has worked diligently to maintain and | 9 |
| grow its works of charity; a recent accounting of contributions | 10 |
| over the last 10 years shows that the Council has contributed | 11 |
| over $300,000 to numerous charities, churches, St. Mary's | 12 |
| School, youth groups, and vocations; and
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| WHEREAS, The Council has remained very involved in parish | 14 |
| activities; it assisted the parish with fundraising efforts for | 15 |
| a new parish center and formed "The Apostles", a group of | 16 |
| parishoners who volunteer their assistance with maintenance | 17 |
| and repairs around the church, school, parish center, and | 18 |
| rectory; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 20 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 |
| we congratulate the Knights of Columbus Mattoon Council No. | 22 |
| 1057 on the occasion of the organization's 100th anniversary; | 23 |
| and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 25 |
| presented to the Knights of Columbus Mattoon Council No. 1057 | 26 |
| as an expression of our esteem and with best wishes for the | 27 |
| organization's future success.
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