HR1412 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1412 LRB095 21752 KXB 51963 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Kelli Garvanian on the occasion of her retirement after nearly 23 years of service as an elected park board commissioner; and

WHEREAS, In 1982, Kelli Garvanian began her volunteer service to the Vernon Hills community when she was appointed to the Park Board's Citizen's Advisory Committee, formerly known as the Recreation Committee; her volunteer service allowed the Park Board to enhance its communications with local residents and to ensure that all resident concerns, ideas, and suggestions were thoroughly considered and acted upon by the Park Board and staff; and

WHEREAS, Her volunteer service was a precursor to her election to the Park Board in 1985; her vision over the years has been to develop the best instruments to communicate with the public, including establishing a website, video taping Board meetings to be aired on the public access channel, and updating the District's master plan and making it available to all residents; her passions also included improving the quality of life for the residents of her community through establishing recreation opportunities and facilities, protecting open land, and acquiring park space; and

WHEREAS, Her first major project for the Park District was to acquire land to build a respectable community center as a central recreation hub without a referendum; through her hard work, dedication, and tiresome campaign, she was able to convince a land owner to sell property to the Park District; she further lobbied new developers to donate land to the Park District to create neighborhood parks throughout the District's boundaries; over the years, the Park District has developed 22 parks, all from donated land; and

WHEREAS, She is actively involved in reviewing, updating, and implementing new policies that affect staff and the community; she has been able to address all angles of policies to ensure that equal attention is paid to all persons involved; her commitment to young people was demonstrated through her involvement in the Hawthorn School District PTO; she served as a voice for all parents, participated in fundraising efforts, and volunteered effortlessly while her son was in grade school; she later became involved in a local soccer program and the local high school athletics program; and

WHEREAS, Kelli divides her personal time between volunteering in the community, being actively involved in her children's activities, and now enjoying her large extended family; at the same time, she still travels throughout the country as a Fraud Specialist for her company; Kelli regularly attended GLMV Chamber events, networking with local business owners and informing community leaders about the Park District; her dedication to the importance of parks and recreation led her to become involved in the Illinois Association of Park Districts; she served on the IAPD Board from 1996 to 2000; Kelli served on three IAPD Committees: Fund Raising Task Force, Honors & Resolutions, and Seminars; and she also served on four IAPD Joint Committees: Joint Conference (Co-Chair), Joint Continuing Education (Co-Chair), Joint Legislative (Co-Chair), and Joint Publications (Co-Chair); and

WHEREAS, For over two decades, Kelli has participated in the IPRA Conference; for twenty-two years, she has dedicated herself to the residents of the Vernon Hills Park District; her future vision holds promise that the Park District will continually grow in an environmentally responsible manner, providing additional play space, protecting the prairies and wetlands, erecting the safest play structures, and providing stimulating recreation programs for all ages and abilities; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we thank Kelli Garvanian for her dedication to the people and the community of Vernon Hills and wish her well in her retirement and all future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Kelli Garvanian as a symbol of our respect.