Bill Text: MI HR0357 | 2015-2016 | 98th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: A resolution to declare November 10, 2016, as Great Lakes Sailors Remembrance Day in the state of Michigan.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2016-11-10 - Adopted [HR0357 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2015-HR0357-Enrolled.html
Reps. LaVoy, Hooker, Goike, Bizon, Kelly, Chirkun, Canfield, Chang, Cochran, Greig, Howrylak and Potvin offered the following resolution:
House Resolution No. 357.
A resolution to declare November 10, 2016, as Great Lakes Sailors Remembrance Day in the state of Michigan.
Whereas, Throughout the annals of Great Lakes history, which have spanned hundreds of years, there is but one Great Lakes State; and
Whereas, Michigan has more coastline than any other state within our continental boundaries and embodies a freshwater legacy that is defined by its people, waterways, and ports; and
Whereas, The Great Lakes maritime trade is more than a mode of transportation but rather a way of life which provides the iron ore that has fueled steel production in war and peace, the coal that generates limitless electrical power, the aggregate which lies beneath our feet, and the grains on our kitchen tables. Nowhere else in the maritime world do the cargoes carried by ships reach so far beyond the threshold of one’s household; and
Whereas, While reliant upon many assets this industry, above all else, depends on sea-faring men and women who, at all hours and in all conditions, stand watch to ensure that vessels of American enterprise and sustainability navigate vast waters safely and efficiently for the good of all. Yet, this is not accomplished without risk and in many cases peril as even the finest vessels have succumbed to unparalleled natural forces; and
Whereas, The Great Lakes have more shipwrecks per square mile than anywhere else on earth and in turn serve as the solemn grave for thousands of lakes sailors. Most notable on this day, November 10, is the untimely loss of the once “Queen of the Lakes,” S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald and her 29 crewmembers. Their struggle with wind and waves would result in an inexplicable journey to a watery grave which they now share with all those who had been lost before them; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives, That the members of this legislative body declare November 10, 2016, as Great Lakes Sailors Remembrance Day in the state of Michigan. We dedicate this day to those who have sailed and continue to ply the waters of our vast inland seas for the Great Lakes have and will continue to serve as the lifeblood of natural resources to our state and nation.
