HR0767LRB101 20821 MST 70546 r 1HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Marvin E. 4Perzee, who passed away on July 17, 2019; and 5 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee was born in Watseka to Nellie 6(Koets) Perzee on October 9, 1942; and 7 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee and his wife, Sharon, grew up around 8agriculture and county fairs and were both heavily involved 9with the Ashkum Chargers, their local 4-H club; Marvin was a 10volunteer for the Chargers for five decades; and 11 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee was first elected to the Iroquois 12County Agricultural and 4-H Club Fair Board in 1967 and later 13served as president for 48 years; and 14 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee had an unrivaled knowledge of the 15inner workings of the Iroquois County Fair; during his tenure, 16the fairgrounds built multiple new buildings and expanded the 17fair to become one of the premier county fairs in Illinois; he 18could even name how many ash trees were on the fairgrounds; and 19 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee held many leadership roles in the 20Illinois Association of Agricultural Fairs, including Northern

HR0767- 2 -LRB101 20821 MST 70546 r 1Zone President, director, and president; he dedicated 40 years 2of service in the role of legislative chair; and 3 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee was a tireless and highly successful 4advocate at the state level for the importance of adequate 5funding for county fairs to not only serve as economic engines 6for rural communities across the State but also to cultivate 7for the younger generations an interest in agricultural 8careers; and 9 WHEREAS, Because of Marvin Perzee's vast knowledge and 10expertise in the workings of county fairs, he was appointed to 11serve on the Illinois Amusement Ride and Attraction Safety 12Board; and 13 WHEREAS, Together with his wife, Sharon, Marvin Perzee was 14instrumental in advocating for issues affecting farmers and 15agriculture and was successful at lobbying for legislation in 16Springfield, such as exempting farm machinery from sales taxes, 17as well as increasing fair funding for all Illinois county 18fairs, 4-H, and vocational agricultural sectional fairs; and 19 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee served as the Iroquois County 20Republican Chairman and as a member of the Agricultural 21Advisory Board under former Congressman Tom Ewing; he was 22honored by Prairie Farmer Magazine as one of four Master

HR0767- 3 -LRB101 20821 MST 70546 r 1Farmers in 1999; he received a number of other awards during 2his life in recognition of his service; and 3 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee was preceded in death by his mother, 4one brother, one daughter, one grandson, and one niece; and 5 WHEREAS, Marvin Perzee is survived by his wife, Sharon; two 6brothers; one daughter; one son-in-law; eight grandchildren; 7six great-grandchildren; and two nieces and nephews; 8therefore, be it 9 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE 10HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 11we mourn the passing of Marvin E. Perzee and extend our sincere 12condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved 13him; and be it further 14 RESOLVED, That we declare May 20, 2020 as "Marvin Perzee 15County Fair Day" in the State of Illinois to honor his 16significant contributions to the Iroquois County Fair and 17agriculture; and be it further 18 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 19presented to the family of Marvin Perzee as an expression of 20our deepest sympathy.