HR0961 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0961 LRB099 20060 MST 44469 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Janice Bennett on the occasion of her retirement as President and CEO of YWCA Lake County; and

WHEREAS, Janice Bennett assumed leadership of YWCA Lake County in December of 2010; her accomplishments include launching numerous new programs and expanding existing programs to better serve the residents of Lake County, including: the Early Childhood Center at Redeemer Church for 3-5 year-old children; the Financial Literacy for Victims of Domestic Violence program; the Jumpstart Your Business/Plan for Profit Entrepreneurial program; the Veterans Transportation & Job Readiness program, a partnership with the Illinois Veterans Administration and the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Healthcare Center for Homeless Veterans; ExceleRate, a statewide quality rating and improvement systems program; and an expansion of the Women's Health program which now includes mandatory Breast Health Awareness sessions and a new database tracker for demographics and navigational services; and

WHEREAS, One of the key highlights during Janice Bennett's tenure was moving YWCA Lake County's physical office facilities from Waukegan to a new, larger, and more centralized location in Gurnee and developing stronger relationships with civic and community leadership throughout the County; and

WHEREAS, Janice Bennett's career spans more than 25 years in philanthropy with private and community foundations, corporate charitable giving programs, and in marketing, communications, and finance; her career includes positions with The Chicago Community Trust responsible for a grant making portfolio that supported funding to women's organizations such as the Women in Trades, the Women's Business Development Center, and the Women's Self Employment Project; she also administered several programs housed at the Trust, including: the Community Service Fellowship Program, which identified individuals that demonstrated community service and leadership capabilities and awarded these community leaders with fellowship assistance to conduct research and study the best practices and programs around the world that could be used to improve the lives of families and communities throughout the region; and

WHEREAS, At the Michael Jordan Foundation, Janice Bennett worked directly with Michael Jordan, his family, and the governing board in charitable grantmaking that focused on education (K-16), children, and youth programs; and

WHEREAS, Before entering the not-for-profit sector, Janice Bennett held positions as Vice-President in Corporate Strategy and Corporate Finance departments at Chase Bank (1st Chicago); a Senior Manager/Consultant at Accenture (Andersen Consulting); and Director of Corporate Communications for an east coast telecommunications company where she was responsible for corporate charitable giving; and

WHEREAS, Janice Bennett will be honored at a reception at the Gurnee office of the YWCA Lake County on January 28, 2016; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Janice Bennett on her retirement as President and CEO of YWCA Lake County, and we wish her the best in all her future endeavors; and be it further

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