HR0498 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0498 LRB094 12496 HSS 47003 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Jerry O. Branson, Business Manager and Financial Secretary of IBEW Local 461, is retiring on July 5, 2005; a retirement party honoring his years of dedication and service will be held on Friday, June 17, 2005; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Branson is a lifelong resident of Illinois; he attended Batavia High School, where he was quite the athlete and was captain of the football team, played basketball, and was a member of the track team; during his sophomore year, he began dating the love of his life, Marge, whom he married in 1963, and is still happily married to today; and

WHEREAS, After high school, Mr. Branson attended Barber College in Chicago and then worked as a barber until 1972; at that time, he and Marge were raising their three young boys, and he realized he needed to switch careers; he chose to follow in the footsteps of his father, an IBEW Local 461 electrician; after a stint working with concrete to get a feel for construction work, he started working as an electrician in the Local; it took six years to become a journeyman wireman, and he was initiated as such into IBEW Local 461 on July 1, 1978; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Branson was appointed to the IBEW Local 461 Executive Board in 1986; in 1987, he was elected to the seat of Vice President of the Local, and in the same year, he was appointed to Assistant Business Manager; he served as both for the next nine years; in 1996, he ran for and won the position of Business Manager; he ran and won again in 1999 and 2002; and

WHEREAS, While serving as Business Manager, Mr. Branson was also a delegate to the IBEW International Convention in 1996 and 2001; he has attended nearly every conference the IBEW has scheduled in his 9 years as Business Manager, and several while he was Assistant Business Manager, including the semiannual IBEW State conferences, IBEW 6th District conferences, and those involving the issues of Training, Organizing, Telecommunications, Construction, and Employee Benefits; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Branson serves on numerous boards of IBEW Local 461, including the Health & Welfare and Pension Trust Funds on which he is the Administrator and Secretary, the Joint Apprenticeship Training Committee, and the Audit Committee; he also regularly attends meetings of the Fox Valley Building Trades and in 1999 and 2000 was its Treasurer; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Branson has served with dignity and grace under pressure and has always done his best to improve the working conditions and the lives of the members he so dutifully serves; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Branson has been a member of the United Methodist Church for over 40 years and is a longtime member of the Batavia Moose; in his free time, he enjoys bowling, fishing, gardening, traveling, and driving his convertible, but his family will always be his top priority; and

WHEREAS, In addition to his dear wife and three sons, he has three daughters-in-law and eight beloved grandchildren; he is a dedicated family man and an outstanding individual; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Jerry Branson on the occasion of his retirement and wish him all the best in the years ahead; and be it further

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