Bill Text: IL HR0201 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates Ryan Risinger on his retirement from the Buffalo Grove Park District.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-04-19 - Resolution Adopted [HR0201 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2023-HR0201-Introduced.html
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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 Ryan Risinger on the | ||||||
4 | occasion of his retirement from the Buffalo Grove Park | ||||||
5 | District on May 26, 2023; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger was first employed by the Buffalo | ||||||
7 | Grove Park District as an intern in May of 1992 after earning | ||||||
8 | his bachelor's degree in parks and recreation from Illinois | ||||||
9 | State University; he was hired full-time as recreation | ||||||
10 | supervisor in November of that same year; he was then promoted | ||||||
11 | to division manager in 1996, superintendent of recreation in | ||||||
12 | 2001, director of recreation and facilities in 2010, and | ||||||
13 | deputy director in 2013; he was named executive director on | ||||||
14 | November 29, 2014; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger continued his education while | ||||||
16 | working full-time for the Buffalo Grove Park District; he | ||||||
17 | attended Indiana University's Executive Development Program, | ||||||
18 | North Carolina State's School of Sports Management at Oglebay, | ||||||
19 | and Disney Institute's Keys to Success and Customer Loyalty | ||||||
20 | Programs; he is a certified Park and Recreation Executive and | ||||||
21 | earned his master's degree in public administration from | ||||||
22 | Villanova in 2015; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger became active in the Illinois Parks | ||||||
2 | and Recreation Association (IPRA) through the recreation | ||||||
3 | section and eventually the administration and finance section; | ||||||
4 | he served on the Mentoring Committee and was recognized by the | ||||||
5 | IPRA for his efforts and contributions as Mentoring Committee | ||||||
6 | Chairman in 2003 and 2004; he has spoken on various | ||||||
7 | educational topics, including The Ups & Downs of Skate Parks | ||||||
8 | and It Takes a Village: Controlling the Crisis, which focused | ||||||
9 | on the importance of community crisis training with local law | ||||||
10 | enforcement; he also co-authored a partnership article titled | ||||||
11 | A Wireless Solution that was featured in the Illinois Park and | ||||||
12 | Recreation magazine; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger's advocacy efforts for parks and | ||||||
14 | recreation on a national level led the Buffalo Grove Park | ||||||
15 | District to be named National Recreation and Park | ||||||
16 | Association's Park Champion of the Year in 2015; and
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17 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger, as executive director, was | ||||||
18 | actively involved in the Illinois Association of Park | ||||||
19 | Districts (IAPD) and IPRA's Distinguished Accreditation | ||||||
20 | program committee; he served as co-chair in 2017 and chair in | ||||||
21 | 2018; he remained on the committee in 2019 and 2020 and was | ||||||
22 | co-chair in 2022; the Buffalo Grove Park District was | ||||||
23 | accredited five times over his 30-year career; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger was an advocate for professional | ||||||
2 | development and ensured that his district's staff had the | ||||||
3 | opportunity to attend state conferences as well as | ||||||
4 | national/regional professional development programs; he has | ||||||
5 | been a respected and dedicated leader who promoted a positive | ||||||
6 | work culture where people not only wanted to work but wanted to | ||||||
7 | stay throughout their career; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger fostered positive relationships | ||||||
9 | with governmental agencies, including the Village of Buffalo | ||||||
10 | Grove, school districts, the Indian Trails Public Library | ||||||
11 | District, sports affiliate groups, and sponsors; he was an | ||||||
12 | active member of the Rotary Club of Buffalo Grove, where he | ||||||
13 | served as president in 2017-18; he served on the Northwest | ||||||
14 | Special Recreation Association Board of Directors from 2015 to | ||||||
15 | 2022, including as chairman in 2020; he was a member of the | ||||||
16 | Special Leisure Services Foundation Board of Trustees in 2021 | ||||||
17 | and 2022 and was a long-standing liaison to the Buffalo Grove | ||||||
18 | Chamber of Commerce; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger oversaw the renovation of the | ||||||
20 | Buffalo Grove Park District's Community Arts Center; partially | ||||||
21 | funded with a PARC grant, the 41,000 SF LEED-certified | ||||||
22 | facility was developed with the arts in mind; it has a | ||||||
23 | state-of-the-art, 360 tiered-seat theater with an ADA | ||||||
24 | accessible sound booth, concessions, box office, multipurpose |
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1 | areas, and an art gallery; the center offers over a 100 | ||||||
2 | different classes with more than 852 performers yearly, as | ||||||
3 | well performing arts camps that serve more than 400 campers; | ||||||
4 | it operates as a rental hub year-round for local groups | ||||||
5 | including churches, synagogues, arangetrams, quinceaneras, | ||||||
6 | community outreach groups, non-profits, and other local | ||||||
7 | government agencies; the district was honored to receive the | ||||||
8 | distinction of Outstanding Facility Award: Division II for | ||||||
9 | this facility by the Illinois Parks and Recreation Association | ||||||
10 | in January of 2020; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger's leadership enabled the district | ||||||
12 | to complete many park developments, including the renovation | ||||||
13 | of the district's park gem, Willow Stream Park, which received | ||||||
14 | upgraded pathways, additional trails, a new playground, pool | ||||||
15 | upgrades and slide, permeable paving, and a pavilion; that | ||||||
16 | project was followed by a large renovation of Reiner Park | ||||||
17 | (formerly Green Lake Park) with the addition of a cricket | ||||||
18 | pitch, outdoor exercise equipment, a fishing pier, and a | ||||||
19 | butterfly garden; he also oversaw the development of the | ||||||
20 | Educational Gardens and Classroom at Mike Rylko Community | ||||||
21 | Park, which encourages the community to be curious about the | ||||||
22 | natural world with a focus on food sustainability and native | ||||||
23 | plants; and
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24 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger also oversaw the Alcott Center |
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1 | pre-school wing renovation, the construction of the Golf Dome, | ||||||
2 | and the proposed Prairie Grove and Parkchester Park | ||||||
3 | renovations, as well as the Spray 'N Play expansion and | ||||||
4 | Amphitheater construction at Mike Rylko Community Park; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Ryan Risinger's legacy of service will leave a | ||||||
6 | lasting impact on the State of Illinois parks and recreation | ||||||
7 | field and on the community of Buffalo Grove; therefore, be it
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8 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
9 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
10 | we congratulate Ryan Risinger on his retirement from the | ||||||
11 | Buffalo Grove Park District, and we wish him well in all his | ||||||
12 | future endeavors; and be it further
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13 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
14 | presented to Ryan Risinger as a symbol of our respect and | ||||||
15 | esteem.
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