Committee on Finance ' , ; , City Council Meeting, December 8, 2010 :" * ■> Alderman Brendan Reilly, 42nd Ward Consent Calendar Resolution
CONGRATULATIONS EXTENDED TO ORION SAMUELSON FOR 50 YEARS OF SERVICE
WITH WGN RADIO
Whereas, Orion Samuelson is heard on WGN Radio, where he has served as Agribusiness Director since 1960. Orion presents daily agricultural and business reports on WGN, in addition to co-hosting The Morning Show, WGN Radio's agriculture program, with his longtime colleague Max Armstrong on Saturdays at 5am. Orion is also heard daily on stations across the Midwest with his syndicated National Farm Report and Samuelson Sez. Orion and Max are seen weekly on rural channel RFD-TV, carried on Dish-TV and DirecTV on This Week in Agribusiness; and
Whereas, His life-long commitment to agriculture has been recognized by organizations in all segments of agri-business. In 1985, Orion was inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame. He has also been inducted into the National 4-H Hall of Fame and the NAFB Hall of Fame; and
Whereas, Orion was named a Laureate of the Lincoln Academy of Illinois and received the Lincoln Medal, the highest award bestowed by the state of Illinois, shortly thereafter, the University of Illinois presented Orion with the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Letters. In October of 1994, he was honored as "Man of the Year" by Heifer Project International on its 50th anniversary; and
Whereas, At the 1997 Illinois State Fair, Governor Jim Edgar changed the name of the Junior Livestock Building to the Orion Samuelson Junior, Livestock Building as a tribute to Orion's nearly four decades of service to the agricultural youth of Illinois; and
Whereas, in November 2003, Orion received the highest award in the radio broadcasting industry when he was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in Chicago. Hall of Famer Paul Harvey presented Orion with the award on the national broadcast hosted by Larry King; and
Whereas, The Honorable Brendan Reilly, Alderman of the 42nd Ward has informed this august body of this significant milestone; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the members of the Chicago City Council assembled here this day of the 8th of December, 2010 does hereby join with the family and many friends of Orion Samuelson in celebrating his accomplishments, the renaming of a portion of East Illinois Street, and his exemplary life, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a suitable copy be prepared and presented to Orion Samuelson and his family as testimony to his wonderful life.
Brendan Reilly
Alderman, 42nd Ward