HR0576 LRB094 12871 CSA 47719 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, Chief Gerald "Jerry" Ward has retired after 50
3 years of service with the Bethany Fire and Ambulance Protection
4 District; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Chief Ward was voted into the Bethany Fire
6 District in 1955 to spend more time with his father, Virgil
7 Ward, who was the first fire chief of the Bethany Fire
8 Protection District; and
 
9     WHEREAS, In 1956, he was appointed Assistant Fire Chief, a
10 position he held until 1982; and
 
11     WHEREAS, In 1974, the Bethany Ambulance District was
12 established; that same year, Gerald Ward took the EMTA classes
13 offered at Decatur Memorial Hospital and became an EMT; he
14 continued to serve as an EMT until his retirement; and
 
15     WHEREAS, In 1982, he was appointed Fire Chief of the
16 Bethany Fire Protection District; and
 
17     WHEREAS, In addition to serving as Fire Chief, he was
18 employed at Firestone Tire and Rubber Company in Decatur where
19 he held the position of shift supervisor; he was responsible
20 for fire fighting, fire prevention, and maintaining plant fire
21 equipment; in 1993, he was promoted to Assistant Department
22 Manager; he retired from Firestone in September of 1995; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Chief Ward has shown himself to be a very
24 dependable and dedicated individual, and the residents of
25 Bethany are grateful for his service to the community; and
 
26     WHEREAS, He and his wife, Kay, have one son, Terry;
27 therefore, be it
 

 

 

HR0576 - 2 - LRB094 12871 CSA 47719 r

1     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
2 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
3 we congratulate Chief Gerald Ward on the occasion of his
4 retirement from Bethany Fire and Ambulance Protection
5 District, we thank him for his many years of outstanding public
6 service, and we wish him all the best in his retirement; and be
7 it further
 
8     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9 presented to Chief Gerald Ward as an expression of our
10 admiration and esteem.