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| 1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois General Assembly are | ||||||
| 3 | pleased to congratulate Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr. on | ||||||
| 4 | the occasion of his retirement as pastor of Morning Star | ||||||
| 5 | Missionary Baptist Church in Kankakee; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr. was born in Winn | ||||||
| 7 | Parish, Louisiana; after completing high school in Louisiana, | ||||||
| 8 | he earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Missouri Western | ||||||
| 9 | University in St. Joseph, Missouri; he also attended National | ||||||
| 10 | College in Kansas City, Missouri, and the University of | ||||||
| 11 | Missouri at Kansas City; he received theological training from | ||||||
| 12 | Western Baptist College, Kansas City National Baptist, and | ||||||
| 13 | William Jewel College in Liberty, Missouri; he holds an | ||||||
| 14 | Honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from Morris College and | ||||||
| 15 | McKinley Theological Seminary; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr. was called to | ||||||
| 17 | pastor Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church in 1971; under | ||||||
| 18 | his leadership, the church erected a half-million dollar | ||||||
| 19 | edifice in 1976, with the mortgage being fully satisfied in | ||||||
| 20 | 1986; the church then purchased and renovated what now serves | ||||||
| 21 | as the Morning Star Community Center for $300,000; | ||||||
| 22 | additionally, the ministries of Morning Star have grown | ||||||
| 23 | tremendously, and the church is currently recognized as a | ||||||
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| 1 | positive and influential social and political icon in the | ||||||
| 2 | Kankakeeland community; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr. is active in | ||||||
| 4 | many civic and community organizations; he has served as | ||||||
| 5 | president of the Kankakee branch of the NAACP and served as | ||||||
| 6 | president of the Northeastside Ministerial Alliance; he is a | ||||||
| 7 | member of the Kankakee Interfaith Clergy and the Young Men's | ||||||
| 8 | Christian Association; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr. has been the | ||||||
| 10 | recipient of numerous awards; he received the Ebony Esteem | ||||||
| 11 | Award for "Man of the Year" and "Most Outstanding Man in | ||||||
| 12 | Religion" for Kankakee County in August of 1975; he was named | ||||||
| 13 | "Minister of the Year" by the Midwestern Illinois Laymen's | ||||||
| 14 | Fellowship; he has also been the recipient of an Illinois State | ||||||
| 15 | Police Community Service Award, a Kankakee Law Enforcement | ||||||
| 16 | Award, the NAACP President's Award for Outstanding Community | ||||||
| 17 | Service, the Dr. Martin Luther King Award from the City of | ||||||
| 18 | Miami, Florida, and Keys to the City of both Miami, Florida and | ||||||
| 19 | Kankakee; and | ||||||
| 20 | WHEREAS, A banquet will be held for Reverend William H. | ||||||
| 21 | Copeland, Jr. on Saturday, April 19, 2008 in honor of his great | ||||||
| 22 | contributions to the people of the Kankakee area; therefore, be | ||||||
| 23 | it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 2 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||
| 3 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we congratulate Reverend | ||||||
| 4 | William H. Copeland, Jr. on the occasion of his retirement and | ||||||
| 5 | wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it | ||||||
| 6 | further
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| 7 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 8 | presented to Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr. as an expression | ||||||
| 9 | of our esteem.
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