HR0517 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0517 LRB099 12365 MST 35559 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Martha Herm on the occasion of her retirement as the Executive Director of The Center for Prevention of Abuse in Peoria; and

WHEREAS, Martha Herm is responsible for managing the budget, grant procurement, program development, and representing the agency to community and funding sources while supervising a staff of 95; she began working at The Center for Prevention of Abuse as the finance and facilities supervisor in 1989 and was named the Executive Director in 1990; and

WHEREAS, The Center for Prevention of Abuse works to change the lives of men, women, and children caught in the web of interpersonal violence and abuse; the agency began as a rape crisis hotline run by volunteers; today, the agency consists of 5 different departments: WomenStrength, InnerStrength, SeniorStrength, YougthStrength, and FamilyStrength; and

WHEREAS, During Martha Herm's time at The Center for Prevention of Abuse, the center celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Duck Race - the major fundraiser for the agency; and the elder abuse program was expanded to become Adult Protective Services; and

WHEREAS, Martha Herm is also involved with the Rotary Club of Peoria, the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence, the Illinois Certified Domestic Violence Professionals, Inc., the Illinois Domestic Violence Advisory Council, the 10th Judicial Circuit Family Violence Coordinating Council, the Illinois Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and the Heart of Illinois Agency Executives; and

WHEREAS, Martha Herm received the Outstanding Victim Advocacy Award given by the Victims' Rights Caucus of the House of Representatives; and

WHEREAS, Martha Herm received her bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and her master's degree in public administration from the University of Illinois at Springfield in 1988; she taught school in Connecticut, was a 4-H agent in West Virginia, managed the housekeeping staff at the Sheraton Hotel in Madison, Wisconsin, and kept the books for a tour company in San Francisco, California; she eventually returned to manage the family farm, where, at one time or another, she and her siblings all worked and where her daughter is now the fifth generation to live on the family farm; and

WHEREAS, Martha Herm's retirement will be official on June 1, 2015; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Martha Herm on her retirement as the Executive Director of The Center for Prevention of Abuse and we wish her the best in all her future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Martha Herm as an expression of our esteem and respect.