HR1232 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1232 LRB094 20362 HSS 58484 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Sharyn Markus, Edwin Schomaker, Charles "Dan" Dermody, and Sr. Joetta Huelsmann, PHJC, will be inducted into the Mater Dei Catholic High School Hall of Honor on Saturday, May 6, 2006; and

WHEREAS, Inductees into the Mater Dei Hall of Honor have distinguished themselves in living the mission of Mater Dei High School by their service to their communities in the areas of academics, business, professional or religious life, and public service; and

WHEREAS, Sharyn Markus of Colorado Springs, Colorado, is a 1968 graduate of Mater Dei High School; she is being inducted for her contributions in education as an English, Language Arts, Reading, and Journalism teacher, and for the many outstanding community service projects that she has established; her teaching career began in 1972, and she now serves as the school liaison for the Colorado Springs World Affairs Council and is also the project coordinator of All Pikes Peak Reads for the Pikes Peak Library District and coordinator for the Children's Literacy Center, Academy School District Twenty; she and her students started the paperclip campaign to honor Holocaust victims; she has served as the executive director for the Colorado Springs Dental Society since 1976, and she traveled to Argentina in 2005 and 2006 with the Children's International Dental Project; and

WHEREAS, Edwin Schomaker is being inducted for his many years of service to Mater Dei and his commitment to the Fathers and Friends organization; he lives in New Baden and is a member of St. George parish; he valiantly served his country as member of the U.S. Army, worked for an Oldsmobile dealership in Mascoutah, and in 1990 retired from General Motors after 44 years; he has been a member of the St. George Holy Name Society and served as its president for ten years; he has been a member of the American Legion Poelker Post for 52 years, served with the Fathers and Friends for 32 years, and from the late 1970s to early 1980s, was a member of the Mater Dei School Board; he also was involved with the March of Dimes for several years; he and his wife Frieda (Wolters) have been married since 1953 and are blessed with five children, Jim, Don, Mary Lou, Geri, and Karen, and eight grandchildren; and

WHEREAS, Charles D. "Dan" Dermody is a member of Mater Dei Class of 1961; upon his graduation in 1961, he immediately started working in broadcasting; his career has taken him to stations in Illinois, Armed Forces Radio on Okinawa, North Carolina, Florida, and back to Illinois; in 2005, after working for 19 years at WXCL, he joined JMP/Triad Broadcasting in Peoria as Program Director/Morning Host on WIRL; the Illinois Country Music Association has named him "Illinois Country Music Air Personality of the Year" five times; on October 1, 2006, he will celebrate 45 years in the broadcasting industry; he and his wife, Mary Ann (Schmitt), serve as Ambassadors for the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital and its affiliate in Peoria; he has been instrumental in raising over one million dollars for the continuing research into childhood cancer and other pediatric diseases; he is active in St. Vincent de Paul parish activities and serves as a lector; he and Mary Ann have one son, Christopher; and

WHEREAS, Sr. Joetta Huelsmann, PHJC, is a 1966 graduate of Mater Dei and is currently serving as co-director of John XXIII Retreat Center in Hartford, Indiana; Sr. Joetta entered the Novitiate of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ in Donaldson, Indiana, after high school; she began her ministry by teaching elementary school; she has served in many places, including Macon; Mt. Zion; Edwardsville; Richmond, Minnesota; Burlington, Iowa; Rock Island; and she returned to pastoral ministry in 1987 as a DRE/Pastoral Associate at St. Mary's, Quincy, then assumed the role of Pastoral Associate at St. Vincent de Paul, Fort Wayne, Indiana, until 1997; at that time, she was elected to the Leadership Team of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ as a Provincial Councilor, a position she held for eight years; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Sharyn Markus, Edwin Schomaker, Charles (Dan) Dermody, and Sr. Joetta Huelsmann, PHJC, on their induction into the Mater Dei Hall of Honor; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to each inductee as an expression of our respect and esteem.