Full Text of HR0204 96th General Assembly
HR0204 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR0204 |
|
LRB096 12008 GRL 24133 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate Larry A. DeGraaf on | 4 |
| the occasion of his retirement as Executive Director of the | 5 |
| Vernon Hills Park District; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, Larry DeGraaf served his country with pride and | 7 |
| distinction as a Naval Reserve Officer with a specialty in | 8 |
| Cryptology, serving 28 years with three years of active duty | 9 |
| from 1965 to 1968; he earned his bachelor's degree in physical | 10 |
| education from Purdue University in 1970 and his master's | 11 |
| degree in education administration from Purdue in 1971; and
| 12 |
| WHEREAS, Larry DeGraaf has had a long and distinguished | 13 |
| career in park and recreation management; he began his career | 14 |
| as Director of the West Lafayette (Indiana) Department of Parks | 15 |
| and Recreation, a position he served in from 1971 to 1975; he | 16 |
| then served as Director of the New Albany and Floyd County | 17 |
| (Indiana) Departments of Parks and Recreation from 1975 to | 18 |
| 1978; he then took the position of Executive Director of the | 19 |
| Morale, Welfare and Recreation Department at the Great Lakes | 20 |
| Naval Training Center, serving there from 1978 to 1991; from | 21 |
| 1992 to 1997, he served as the Executive Director of the | 22 |
| Golf-Maine (Illinois) Park District; he most recently served as | 23 |
| Executive Director of the Vernon Hills Park District from |
|
|
|
HR0204 |
- 2 - |
LRB096 12008 GRL 24133 r |
|
| 1 |
| January of 1997 until his retirement on March 13, 2009; and
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, Larry DeGraaf was instrumental in the development | 3 |
| and improvement of the Vernon Hills Park District during his | 4 |
| tenure as Executive Director; he initiated and supervised | 5 |
| countless improvements, such as replacing and renovating | 6 |
| existing parks, approving new parks, adding paths, expanding | 7 |
| parking, and enhancing landscaping; he also put in place many | 8 |
| policies and programs that will continue to serve park district | 9 |
| patrons in the future, such as the Five Year Parks and | 10 |
| Recreation Master Plan, upgraded computer support, online | 11 |
| registration, and the Tree and Bench Donation Programs; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, Under Larry DeGraaf's direction, the Vernon Hills | 13 |
| Park District received the Government Finance Officials | 14 |
| Association Award for Comprehensive Annual Financial Reporting | 15 |
| on seven occasions and was selected as a Gold Medal Finalist | 16 |
| three times; he was instrumental in obtaining numerous grants | 17 |
| including those from the Illinois General Assembly, the | 18 |
| Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Open Space Lands | 19 |
| Acquisition, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency; | 20 |
| in the spirit of intergovernmental cooperation, he executed | 21 |
| intergovernmental agreements with the Village of Vernon Hills | 22 |
| for the transfer and use of developer impact fees and with High | 23 |
| School District 128 for the operation of the Vernon Hills | 24 |
| Athletic Complex; and |
|
|
|
HR0204 |
- 3 - |
LRB096 12008 GRL 24133 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, In his capacity as Executive Director at Vernon | 2 |
| Hills, Larry DeGraaf served on the Board of Directors of the | 3 |
| Special Recreation Association of Central Lake County; he also | 4 |
| served on the Board of Directors of the Illinois Parks | 5 |
| Association Risk Services, a risk pool of more than 160 | 6 |
| Illinois park districts; and
| 7 |
| WHEREAS, Larry DeGraaf is an active member and | 8 |
| Past-President of the Mundelein-Vernon Hills Rotary Club; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, Larry DeGraaf and his wife, Rita, have been | 10 |
| married for 14 years; together, they have two children, Kendall | 11 |
| and Skylar; he also has two children from his first marriage, | 12 |
| Catherine and Rebecca, and three grandchildren, Tristan, Leah, | 13 |
| and Jake; therefore, be it
| 14 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 16 |
| congratulate Larry A. DeGraaf on the occasion of his retirement | 17 |
| and wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it | 18 |
| further
| 19 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 |
| presented to Larry DeGraaf as a symbol of our esteem and | 21 |
| respect.
|
|