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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

  
 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Mt. Carmel Rotary 
4Club on over 100 years of service to Mt. Carmel and the State 
5of Illinois; and
  
 
6    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club was organized on 
7February 18, 1920 with 20 charter members; and
  
 
8    WHEREAS, In its early years, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club 
9met at the Mulhall Hotel, later known as the Wabash Hotel and 
10more recently as the Colonial Inn, on 117 East Fifth Street; 
11and
  
 
12    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club was organized with the 
13assistance of Harrisburg Rotary Club President C.A. Taylor and 
14Harrisburg Rotary Club Secretary Charles E. Combe; and
  
 
15    WHEREAS, The first officers of the Mt. Carmel Rotary Club 
16were President Walter Kimzey, Vice-President Dan Keen, 
17Secretary Charles Reynolds, and Sergeant at Arms Frank 
18Cowling; and
  
 
19    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club constitution and 
20by-laws were adopted on March 1, 1920 with a charter date of 
 
 
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1April 1, 1920; and
  
 
2    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club has had three members 
3who have served as District Governors, Peter Kolb from 1925 to 
41926, Carroll Risley from 1960 to 1961, and Janice Alka from 
52018 to 2019; member  Robin Dean will serve as District 
6Governor from 2025 to 2026; and
  
 
7    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club's signature activity 
8is Corn Day, which started in 1965 at the Bluff City Park and 
9has been an annual event in Mt. Carmel every year since; the 
10event is scheduled near the 4th of July and has been held in 
11the Mabel Courter Youth Center since 1983; and
  
 
12    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club's Corn Day feeds 
13nearly 1,500 people all the sweet corn they can eat, and the 
14proceeds go to community and humanitarian endeavors; and
  
 
15    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club has helped children 
16and youth in the community through various activities, 
17including providing playground equipment for local schools and 
18parks, supporting the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and giving a 
19dictionary to every third grade student in the county schools; 
20and
  
 
21    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club has helped public and 
 
 
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1private schools; since 2006, it has contributed to 
2improvements to the City Park and Swimming Pool, provided 
3college scholarships for high school seniors, and made 
4donations to the Mt. Carmel High School Music Department and 
5to Youth in Action; and
  
 
6    WHEREAS, During the summer of 1978, Lynne Sadlek 
7participated in a Mt. Carmel Rotary Club sponsored Student 
8Exchange Program, and in 2018, Madison Merritt participated in 
9a nine month Student Exchange Program in Japan; and
  
 
10    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club provided leadership in 
11the construction of the Shelter House and new restrooms in the 
12City Park, which was a $130,000 project; and
  
 
13    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club has served the 
14community through various additional projects, including 
15visiting residents in nursing homes, wrapping tree seedlings 
16for the Wabash County Soil and Water District, and giving 
17financial help to the Mt. Carmel Public Library, the Wabash 
18Valley College Foundation, the Wabash General Hospital and 
19Foundation, Wabash Area Development, Inc. (WADI), and the Safe 
20Haven Women's shelter; it has also provided local law 
21enforcement with speed indicators and aided in the 
22installation and maintenance of "Welcome to Mt. Carmel" signs 
23and message boards; and
  
 
 
 
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1    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club has supported The 
2Rotary Foundation in its overall mission of doing good in the 
3world as well as specifically supporting  the Polio Plus 
4program to eradicate polio; and
  
 
5    WHEREAS, The Mt. Carmel Rotary Club had originally planned 
6to celebrate their 100th anniversary on April 4, 2020 but had 
7to postpone due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the celebration was 
8then held on Saturday, October 23, 2021 in conjunction with 
9the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Shelter House in Mount 
10Carmel City Park with Rotary International President Mark 
11Maloney as the special guest; therefore, be it
  
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE 
13HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
14we congratulate the Mt. Carmel Rotary Club on over 100 years of 
15service; and be it further
  
 
16    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 
17presented to the Mt. Carmel Rotary Club as a symbol of our 
18respect and esteem.