093_HR0487 LRB093 13330 RAH 18614 r 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, BPW/USA was founded in 1919 and today is the 3 largest organization of working women in the world; and 4 WHEREAS, Centralia BPW was organized in March 1926 and is 5 celebrating 77 years of service to the Centralia area; and 6 WHEREAS, BPW/USA's primary goal is to promote full 7 participation in the workforce, equity, and economic 8 self-sufficiency for America's working women, and, through 9 educational scholarships, help them to be of greater service 10 to their community, their state, their nation, and the world; 11 and 12 WHEREAS, BPW/USA helped bring about much of the landmark 13 civil and women's rights legislation of our time, from the 14 Civil Rights Act and Equal Pay Act, to Title IX and the Equal 15 Credit Opportunity Act; and 16 WHEREAS, At the heart of BPW/USA is the local 17 organization where members come together and share personal, 18 professional, and leadership development, political skills 19 and awareness, scholarship and loan resources, and 20 participate in a professional network; and 21 WHEREAS, The President of the United States has 22 proclaimed October 19 to October 25, 2003 as National 23 Business Women's Week, a time set aside to honor working 24 women across the country; and 25 WHEREAS, The majority of members of the Centralia BPW are 26 residents of the City of Centralia; and 27 WHEREAS, We are proud of their leadership and service not 28 only to the Centralia community but also to the State of 29 Illinois; therefore, be it 30 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE -2- LRB093 13330 RAH 18614 r 1 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 2 we proclaim October 19 to October 25, 2003 as "National 3 Business Women's Week" in the State of Illinois; and be it 4 further 5 RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be 6 presented to Sylvia Mahle and Gloria Freels, co-chairpersons 7 of BPW Week, as an expression of our esteem.