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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate Steve Olson on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of his retirement as Fire Chief for the City of Geneva | ||||||
| 5 | Fire Department; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Chief Olson retired on June 30, 2016 after 42 | ||||||
| 7 | years with the Geneva Fire Department,
including 20 years as | ||||||
| 8 | Chief; he was hired in 1974 as a paid on-call firefighter; he | ||||||
| 9 | was promoted to Fire Lieutenant in 1978 and joined the
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| 10 | department on a full-time basis the following year; he was | ||||||
| 11 | named Captain in 1982, Deputy Fire Chief in 1986, and Fire | ||||||
| 12 | Chief in 1996; he
oversaw a department of 26 full-time | ||||||
| 13 | firefighter/paramedics and over 40 paid on-call firefighters; | ||||||
| 14 | and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Chief Olson helped modernize the
department with | ||||||
| 16 | construction of two fire stations, which included a new | ||||||
| 17 | headquarters; he also purchased updated vehicles and
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| 18 | equipment; he initiated a community-based automated external | ||||||
| 19 | defibrillator program that assisted local businesses and
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| 20 | organizations in acquiring the devices along with training, | ||||||
| 21 | installation, and maintenance; and
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| 22 | WHEREAS, Chief Olson developed the successful in-service | ||||||
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| 1 | company inspection program that ensures the department | ||||||
| 2 | annually inspects
all commercial properties and introduced the | ||||||
| 3 | use of laptop computers in fire vehicles to provide critical | ||||||
| 4 | building
information to responding firefighters and | ||||||
| 5 | paramedics; he helped lead the department through an exhaustive
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| 6 | process that resulted in the department, becoming an | ||||||
| 7 | internationally accredited agency in 2001, a status it has
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| 8 | successfully maintained through the subsequent 15 years; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Chief Olson has made an indelible impact on the | ||||||
| 10 | fire department, the city, and the community; he is the epitome | ||||||
| 11 | of selfless leadership; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Chief Olson is a lifelong Geneva resident; he and | ||||||
| 13 | his wife, Beth, have three daughters, all of whom graduated | ||||||
| 14 | from
Geneva High School; therefore, be it
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| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 16 | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 17 | congratulate Steve Olson on his retirement as Fire Chief for | ||||||
| 18 | the City of Geneva Fire Department; and be it further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to Chief Olson as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 21 | respect.
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