Bill Text: IL HR0450 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates Richard Guebert Jr. on his retirement as president of Illinois Farm Bureau. Thanks him for his dedication and commitment to improving the economic well-being of agriculture and enriching the quality of farm family life.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-24 - Resolution Adopted [HR0450 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HR0450-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
Representatives wish to congratulate Richard L. Guebert Jr. on
the occasion of his retirement as president of Illinois Farm
Bureau; and
WHEREAS, Richard Guebert was born and raised on a 120-cow
family dairy farm; after returning home from Southern Illinois
University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in agriculture
education with a minor in animal science, he started his own
farming operation with his wife, Nancy; he and his son, Kyle,
operate a farm in Ellis Grove, where they raise corn,
soybeans, and wheat; and
WHEREAS, Richard Guebert is the 15th president of Illinois
Farm Bureau and serves as a full-time executive officer; he is
also president of COUNTRY Financial, the Illinois Agricultural
Service Company, and the IAA Foundation; he serves on the
Leadership Council and the board of the Illinois Agri-Food
Alliance, a statewide initiative to enable Illinois and the
Chicago region to become the leading global hub for food and
agriculture; and
WHEREAS, Prior to his election as president, Richard
Guebert served as vice president of Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB)

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from 2003 to 2013; as vice president, he also served as
chairman of the COUNTRY/IFB Governance Committee; and
WHEREAS, Before Richard Guebert's time with Illinois Farm
Bureau, he served as director of the Lower Kaskaskia
Stakeholders, Inc. from 1999 to 2004, director of the
Kaskaskia Watershed Association from 2000 to 2004, director of
Gateway FS from 1990 to 2008, and on the board of directors of
the Randolph County Farm Bureau from 1993 to 2003, where he
also served as vice president from 1994 to 1996 and president
from 1996 to 2003; and
WHEREAS, In 2001, Richard Guebert served on the Illinois
Farm Bureau Co-op Task Force and completed the Agricultural
Leaders of Tomorrow leadership training; he was named a Master
Farmer by Prairie Farmer magazine in 2006; and
WHEREAS, In March 2007, Richard Guebert accompanied
then-Director Jack Lavin of the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity and other delegates on a
trade mission to India to open a trade office in New Delhi; in
June 2007, he traveled to Poland with then-Lt. Governor Pat
Quinn on a four-city cultural exchange and trade mission that
developed and enhanced the relationship between Illinois and
Poland; in March 2009, he was part of the farm and business
delegation to Cuba under the direction of the former U.S.

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Secretary of Agriculture Jack Block; he was appointed by
then-Governor Pat Quinn to the Taxpayer Action Board in April
2009 and the Governor's Export Advisory Council in 2012; he
participated in a trade mission to China with Governor Quinn
and several business leaders from across the State in 2011;
and
WHEREAS, Richard Guebert and his wife have one son, Kyle
(Michelle), and two granddaughters, Emma and Ella; and
WHEREAS, Richard Guebert's leadership and vision during
his tenure at Illinois Farm Bureau will leave a lasting impact
on agriculture; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate Richard Guebert Jr. on his retirement, and we
thank him for his dedication and commitment to improving the
economic well-being of agriculture and enriching the quality
of farm family life; and be it further