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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Patricia Avery on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of her retirement as the Executive Director of the | ||||||
| 5 | Champaign-Urbana Area Project; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, In 1996, Patricia Avery was the first African | ||||||
| 7 | American woman appointed or elected to a county office when she | ||||||
| 8 | was elected as the Recorder of Deeds; in 1998, she was elected | ||||||
| 9 | to the Champaign County Board; in 2000, she was the first | ||||||
| 10 | Democrat, the first African American, and the first woman to | ||||||
| 11 | serve as the Chair of the Champaign County Board; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, In 2006, Patricia Avery founded the CUperStar | ||||||
| 13 | Performing Arts and Enrichment Program, where over 100 young | ||||||
| 14 | artists showcased their talents at various venues across | ||||||
| 15 | Champaign-Urbana; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Patricia Avery has served on many boards, | ||||||
| 17 | including the YWCA, the Rape Crisis Center, Women in | ||||||
| 18 | Transition, the Black Chamber of Commerce, the Tri-County | ||||||
| 19 | Economic Development Corp, and the City of Champaign Planning | ||||||
| 20 | and Zoning Board of Appeals; she served as Champaign's | ||||||
| 21 | representative on the Champaign County Regional Planning | ||||||
| 22 | Commission; she was a member of the Unit 4 School District | ||||||
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| 1 | Community Engagement Committee, CU Fresh Start, the Champaign | ||||||
| 2 | Community Coalition, and the City of Urbana Traffic Stop Study | ||||||
| 3 | Committee; she was an Everytown for Gun Sense Fellow in 2017; | ||||||
| 4 | and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, Patricia Avery was President of the Champaign | ||||||
| 6 | County NAACP from 2011 until 2017; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Patricia Avery was appointed to the African | ||||||
| 8 | American Families Commission by Governor Pat Quinn from 2014 | ||||||
| 9 | until 2017; she served as Vice President of the Illinois | ||||||
| 10 | Council of Area Projects; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Patricia Avery has received many awards and | ||||||
| 12 | honors, including the Phenomenal Woman of Worth Award from the | ||||||
| 13 | International African Women in Leadership Organization, | ||||||
| 14 | Diaspora Conference, that took place in Atlanta, Georgia in | ||||||
| 15 | 2017; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 17 | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 18 | we congratulate Patricia Avery on the occasion of her | ||||||
| 19 | retirement as the Executive Director of the Champaign-Urbana | ||||||
| 20 | Area Project and commend her life's work of public service, | ||||||
| 21 | community organizing, and advocacy; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to Patricia Avery as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 3 | respect.
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