| |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of
Stan Bergstein, who passed away on | ||||||
| 4 | November 2, 2011; and
| ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was born in Pottsville, | ||||||
| 6 | Pennsylvania; he served his country with pride as a member of | ||||||
| 7 | the United States Army during World War II, walking onto Omaha | ||||||
| 8 | Beach a few days after the Normandy invasion and engaging in | ||||||
| 9 | combat; after his discharge, he enrolled in Northwestern | ||||||
| 10 | University's Medill School of Journalism; and
| ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, After graduating from Northwestern, Stan | ||||||
| 12 | Bergstein became a track announcer at Maywood Park, which | ||||||
| 13 | inaugurated pari-mutuel harness racing in Illinois in 1946; in | ||||||
| 14 | 1948, he was hired by Abe Saperstein to work as an announcer | ||||||
| 15 | and publicist for the Harlem Globetrotters, traveling | ||||||
| 16 | throughout America and abroad with the team for 5 years; he | ||||||
| 17 | also worked as a race secretary and track announcer at | ||||||
| 18 | Sportsman's Park; and
| ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, In 1961, Stan Bergstein left Sportsman's Park to | ||||||
| 20 | become executive vice president of Harness Tracks of America, | ||||||
| 21 | where he remained until his retirement in February of 2011; in | ||||||
| 22 | 1968, he added the title of vice president of publicity and | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | public relations for the U.S. Trotting Association, the | ||||||
| 2 | governing body of the standardbred sport; he also served as | ||||||
| 3 | editor of the USTA's award-winning monthly magazine, | ||||||
| 4 | HoofBeats; and
| ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was a staunch advocate of forging | ||||||
| 6 | closer ties between standardbred and thoroughbred racing, most | ||||||
| 7 | notably in regards to medication abuse and drug testing; he | ||||||
| 8 | began writing a column for the thoroughbred publication Daily | ||||||
| 9 | Racing Form in 1948; he continued to contribute columns to the | ||||||
| 10 | publication until September of 2011; and
| ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was the announcer for harness | ||||||
| 12 | racing's 2 premier events, working 2 years at the Little Brown | ||||||
| 13 | Jug and 17 years at the Hambletonian; he also inaugurated the | ||||||
| 14 | World Driving Championship, a yearly series of races involving | ||||||
| 15 | harness drivers from the U.S. and Europe with competition on | ||||||
| 16 | both continents; and
| ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was the only person to be inducted | ||||||
| 18 | into both the Harness Racing Hall of Fame and its Communicators | ||||||
| 19 | Hall of Fame; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein will be honored by the United | ||||||
| 21 | States Harness Writers Association for his many lifetime | ||||||
| 22 | achievements in the harness racing industry at its 2012 awards | ||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
| 1 | dinner in Orlando, Florida on February 12, 2012; and
| ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein was preceded in death by his wife; | ||||||
| 3 | and | ||||||
| 4 | WHEREAS, Stan Bergstein is survived by his son, Al; his | ||||||
| 5 | daughter, Lisa Bergstein Tremback; and his 4 grandsons; | ||||||
| 6 | therefore, be it
| ||||||
| 7 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 8 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with | ||||||
| 9 | his family and friends, the passing of Stan Bergstein; and be | ||||||
| 10 | it further
| ||||||
| 11 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 12 | presented to the family of Stan Bergstein as an expression of | ||||||
| 13 | our sympathy.
| ||||||