HR1412 LRB095 21752 KXB 51963 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate Kelli Garvanian on
4 the occasion of her retirement after nearly 23 years of service
5 as an elected park board commissioner; and
 
6     WHEREAS, In 1982, Kelli Garvanian began her volunteer
7 service to the Vernon Hills community when she was appointed to
8 the Park Board's Citizen's Advisory Committee, formerly known
9 as the Recreation Committee; her volunteer service allowed the
10 Park Board to enhance its communications with local residents
11 and to ensure that all resident concerns, ideas, and
12 suggestions were thoroughly considered and acted upon by the
13 Park Board and staff; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Her volunteer service was a precursor to her
15 election to the Park Board in 1985; her vision over the years
16 has been to develop the best instruments to communicate with
17 the public, including establishing a website, video taping
18 Board meetings to be aired on the public access channel, and
19 updating the District's master plan and making it available to
20 all residents; her passions also included improving the quality
21 of life for the residents of her community through establishing
22 recreation opportunities and facilities, protecting open land,
23 and acquiring park space; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Her first major project for the Park District was
2 to acquire land to build a respectable community center as a
3 central recreation hub without a referendum; through her hard
4 work, dedication, and tiresome campaign, she was able to
5 convince a land owner to sell property to the Park District;
6 she further lobbied new developers to donate land to the Park
7 District to create neighborhood parks throughout the
8 District's boundaries; over the years, the Park District has
9 developed 22 parks, all from donated land; and
 
10     WHEREAS, She is actively involved in reviewing, updating,
11 and implementing new policies that affect staff and the
12 community; she has been able to address all angles of policies
13 to ensure that equal attention is paid to all persons involved;
14 her commitment to young people was demonstrated through her
15 involvement in the Hawthorn School District PTO; she served as
16 a voice for all parents, participated in fundraising efforts,
17 and volunteered effortlessly while her son was in grade school;
18 she later became involved in a local soccer program and the
19 local high school athletics program; and
 
20     WHEREAS, Kelli divides her personal time between
21 volunteering in the community, being actively involved in her
22 children's activities, and now enjoying her large extended
23 family; at the same time, she still travels throughout the

 

 

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1 country as a Fraud Specialist for her company; Kelli regularly
2 attended GLMV Chamber events, networking with local business
3 owners and informing community leaders about the Park District;
4 her dedication to the importance of parks and recreation led
5 her to become involved in the Illinois Association of Park
6 Districts; she served on the IAPD Board from 1996 to 2000;
7 Kelli served on three IAPD Committees: Fund Raising Task Force,
8 Honors & Resolutions, and Seminars; and she also served on four
9 IAPD Joint Committees: Joint Conference (Co-Chair), Joint
10 Continuing Education (Co-Chair), Joint Legislative (Co-Chair),
11 and Joint Publications (Co-Chair); and
 
12     WHEREAS, For over two decades, Kelli has participated in
13 the IPRA Conference; for twenty-two years, she has dedicated
14 herself to the residents of the Vernon Hills Park District; her
15 future vision holds promise that the Park District will
16 continually grow in an environmentally responsible manner,
17 providing additional play space, protecting the prairies and
18 wetlands, erecting the safest play structures, and providing
19 stimulating recreation programs for all ages and abilities;
20 therefore, be it
 
21     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
23 thank Kelli Garvanian for her dedication to the people and the
24 community of Vernon Hills and wish her well in her retirement

 

 

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1 and all future endeavors; and be it further
 
2     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3 presented to Kelli Garvanian as a symbol of our respect.