HR1017 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1017 LRB094 19876 HSS 57047 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois are pleased to congratulate Betty Brown of Elgin on being chosen to be interviewed by The History Makers; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Brown will be the only person from the Northwest suburbs of Chicago to join the 1,200 African Americans from across the United States who have sat down for video interviews with The History Makers; others that have been interviewed include Senator Barack Obama, Dionne Warwick, and the late Ebony publisher, John H. Johnson; and

WHEREAS, The History Makers holds the nation's largest collection of African-American oral histories; based on nominations, it chooses African-American people to interview from all fields, including medicine, media, and politics; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Brown moved to Elgin with her family when she was six years old; she went on to become the first African-American nurse at St. Joseph Hospital, and she worked as a nursing supervisor for 15 years; following nursing, she became a consultant with a major cosmetics company and was selected by Miglin & Associates for the "Women of Destiny" program, which led to her involvement in the fashion world; she was a member of The Fashion Group International, Inc., of Chicago and became an advocate for peace across the world as a board member; and

WHEREAS, In the 1990s, she covered the society beat for North Shore Magazine, and she has written society news for both the Daily Herald and Courier News; through her work, she's interviewed many celebrities, including Sidney Poitier and Jay Leno; and

WHEREAS, She was the first African-American recipient of the Altrusa Club's Woman of the Year Award for outstanding service for improvement and welfare of the community; she was also the first African-American woman to have her own radio talk show on WRMN 1410-AM and for years worked as a manager for the Miss Illinois Pageant, for which she was featured in Newsweek magazine as mentor of the year; she has been the recipient of numerous awards and accolades and serves on the boards of various civic and charitable organizations; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Betty Brown of Elgin on being chosen to be interviewed by The History Makers; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Mrs. Brown as an expression of our deep respect and esteem.