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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are honored to congratulate the members of the | ||||||
4 | Itoo Society of Peoria on the occasion of its 100th anniversary | ||||||
5 | on July 4, 2014; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The Itoo Society of Peoria is a charitable | ||||||
7 | organization that was founded on July 4, 1914 by 46 men who | ||||||
8 | emigrated from the village of Aytou, Lebanon and settled in | ||||||
9 | Peoria between 1887 and 1914; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The Itoo Society of Peoria was founded in 1914 as | ||||||
11 | the Itoo Reform and Progress Society; the name was changed in | ||||||
12 | 1951; at its inception, the Itoo Society was envisioned as an | ||||||
13 | organization dedicated to both charitable and fraternal | ||||||
14 | purposes; it has lived up to that goal by helping its members | ||||||
15 | and the villagers of Aytou, Lebanon in times of misfortune, as | ||||||
16 | well as working with many local and national charities; and
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17 | WHEREAS, In November of 1928, a group of 18-20 women | ||||||
18 | decided to cook a meal to serve to their friends in the Peoria | ||||||
19 | community, with the proceeds to help pay the mortgage of the | ||||||
20 | original Itoo Hall; that tradition has continued each year as | ||||||
21 | the Itoo Supper, one of the oldest ethnic festivals in the | ||||||
22 | State of Illinois; in June of 1968, the first Itoo Shish-Ka-Bob |
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1 | was held to complement the Itoo Supper; these festivals' | ||||||
2 | specialties have been wonderful Lebanese food, served along | ||||||
3 | with the legendary hospitality of the Itoo Society; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Recognizing the strong link between the | ||||||
5 | communities of Aytou, Lebanon and Peoria and the fact that the | ||||||
6 | heritage of over 6,000 area residents are linked to Aytou, | ||||||
7 | Lebanon, the Peoria City Council recently sealed the bond | ||||||
8 | between the 2 communities by officially making Aytou, Lebanon a | ||||||
9 | Sister City of Peoria; and
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10 | WHEREAS, The Itoo Society has been the anchor for most of | ||||||
11 | the Lebanese-Americans living in central Illinois, providing a | ||||||
12 | strong link to their rich heritage; the founders of the Itoo | ||||||
13 | Society instilled in their descendants a strong faith and | ||||||
14 | devotion to God, a love of family, the knowledge of how to be | ||||||
15 | contributing members of society through hard work and to be | ||||||
16 | proud of their Lebanese heritage, and a profound love of the | ||||||
17 | United States of America; therefore, be it
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18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
19 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
20 | we congratulate the members of the Itoo Society of Peoria on | ||||||
21 | the occasion of its 100th anniversary and wish then continued | ||||||
22 | success in the future; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | presented to the Board of Directors of the Itoo Society as an | ||||||
3 | expression of our esteem and respect.
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