HR0447 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0447 LRB094 12371 HSS 46565 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Hazel Renfroe will celebrate her 100th birthday on Saturday, June 18, 2005; and

WHEREAS, She was born in Chicago on Sunday, June 18, 1905; she attended Chicago Public Schools and graduated from Bowen High School; she received her Teacher's Certificate from Chicago Normal College and went on to earn a Bachelor's Degree from the University of Chicago; she also earned a Master of Science in art education from the Illinois Institute of Technology, which included one year of study at the Sorbonne in Paris, France, on a scholarship; she studied painting in Paris, France, in the summer of 1950 and interior design at Northwestern University; and

WHEREAS, During World War II, Ms. Renfroe volunteered 100 hours with the Red Cross as part of the Women's Defense Corps of America; she taught gas mask and messenger courses to adults in Pekin District, O.C.D., and acted as a chaperon for young ladies invited by soldiers to parties at southern Illinois camps; she was cited by the Treasury Department for topping the million dollar mark in the sale of War Stamps and Bonds in Negro hotels in Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Her lifelong passion was her avocation - teaching; she was an art teacher at various Chicago schools, where she rose through the ranks from Elementary Art Instructor to Supervisor of Arts; she directed and taught both Adult and Children's Arts & Crafts programs, served on textbook committees that selected the art books used in Chicago's Public Schools, was a member of the committee which revised DePaul University's Teacher-Training Program, and was a regular member of visiting committees of the North Central Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges to evaluate facilities accreditation, curricula, and faculties with regard to their Art Departments; and

WHEREAS, Ms. Renfroe was politically active; in 1964, she organized 250 women for President Lyndon B. Johnson's "Career Women for the Great Society"; this effort was so successful that Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley asked her to direct the telephone bank for his third campaign for re-election; and

WHEREAS, She is a founding member of the South Side Community Art Center, the Metropolitan Council of Negro Women, and the Chicago Women's Division of the United Negro College Fund, and a charter member of the Bravo Chapter of the Lyric Opera, the Chicago Chapter of Girl Friends, and the North Shore Chapter of Links, Inc.; she is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church, several bridge clubs, and the Board of the City Associates of the Art Institute; and

WHEREAS, She has, at various times subsequent to her retirement, served on advisory committees for African-American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Field Museum, and the Chicago Historical Society; and

WHEREAS, In 1993, Ms. Renfroe was elected to membership in the National Association for Female Executives, having opened her own art consulting firm, and is listed in both the first "Who's Who Among Black Americans" and the "International Who's Who of Professional and Business Women"; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Hazel Renfroe on reaching the distinguished mark of her 100th birthday, and we thank her for the incredible contributions she has made to the art community in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Ms. Renfroe as an expression of our deepest respect and esteem and with best wishes for a wonderful celebration in honor of her birthday.