HR0968 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0968 LRB094 19383 HSS 56446 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that Galen R. Thomas of Creal Springs was selected as the recipient of the Illinois Association of School Social Workers' (IASSW) Lifetime Achievement Award; the award is presented to one school social worker in Illinois whose lifetime work in schools and communities exemplifies social work of the highest quality; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas is the Regional Representative for IASSW Region 16, which encompasses most of Southern Illinois; he retired from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale's School of Social Work in 2004 after 19 years of service; and

WHEREAS, This award is also a tribute to Mr. Thomas' leadership in IASSW and in multiple positions within the organization; his dedication to the Association and to the development of the profession has been life long; his leadership has guided the organization through many difficult times and has helped establish IASSW as the leading school social work organization in existence; and

WHEREAS, He has given direction to the Board in tackling such projects as meeting with the Illinois State Board of Education to discuss many important school social work issues and revising the School of Social Work Manual; not only did he teach many school social workers their craft at Southern Illinois University, he taught countless others how to assess children's adaptive behavior in workshops; he was a collaborative author on one of the major textbooks in the field, contributing two chapters in Constable, McDonald, & Flynn's (2002) "School Social Work: Practice, Policy, and Research Practices"; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Thomas holds a Bachelor of Science in psychology from Iowa State University and a Masters of Social Work from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock; he served in the United States Navy for two years and two months; he is married to Donna, is father to Gail and Ryan, who is currently serving overseas in the U.S. Army as a sergeant, and is grandfather to Caitlin and Ryleigh; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Galen R. Thomas on being the recipient of the Illinois Association of School Social Workers' Lifetime Achievement Award; and be it further

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