MEMORIAL RESOLUTION FOR BOARD MEETING OF JANUARY 18, 2018
Title
RESOLUTION sponsored by the Board of Commissioners recognizing Bing Chee Chin’s 36 years of service and contribution to the Army Corps of Engineers and his 80th birthday
Body
WHEREAS, Bing Chee Chin celebrated his 80th birthday in Palatine, Illinois on January 1, 2018; and
WHEREAS, Bing is a loving husband to wife Sue and a proud and devoted father to son Michael and daughters Doreen, Charlene, and Marlene; and
WHEREAS, Bing was born January 1, 1938 in Kung Yick City, Tai Shan District, Kwang Tung Province, China, having spent his first eight years of childhood in China helping his grandmothers around their simple homes that had dirt floors, no electricity, and no running water; and
WHEREAS, during his childhood, China was pulled into World War II and he remembers hearing the bombs drop in neighboring areas and his family being forced to leave their home country; and
WHEREAS, Bing’s father came back to China from the United States on the first passenger vessel that was allowed to cross the Pacific after the war, in hopes of bringing Bing to the United States; and
WHEREAS, Bing, his father, and his cousin made the 17 day journey to America via the SS General Gordon military vessel, arriving in San Francisco on July 14, 1947; and
WHEREAS, Bing began elementary school in 1947 and was later the only Chinese immigrant to graduate from LeMoyne Elementary School; and
WHEREAS, he then attended Lake View High School in Chicago, working two part-time jobs in between his studies, often battling motion sickness on public transportation as he completed his assignment because it was the only time he had to do his homework, eventually overcoming the motion sickness; and
WHEREAS, he met his future wife, Sue, at one of his after school jobs, Hoe Kow’s Cantonese Restaurant in downtown Chicago; and
WHEREAS, Bing graduated from Lake View in 1957 and was accepted into the University of Illinois at Navy Pier, transferring to the Urbana-Champaign Campus after five semesters; and
WHEREAS, Bing and Sue were married on September 2, 1961 at St. Thomas Church in Chicago; and
WHEREAS, immediately after graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering, Bing began working at the Army Corps of Engineers at the Peoria Project Office, Operations Division, Chicago District; and
WHEREAS, Bing and Sue had four children together while also helping his mother raise his siblings ensuring that both his children and siblings had the access and the means to attend college; and
WHEREAS, in 1965, Bing was promoted to Chief, Permits and Statistics Branch, Operations Division, Chicago District, with subsequent promotions including one in 1967, where he helped to develop long-term engineering and construction programs in the Program Development Office of the North Central, again in 1973 to Chief, Program Development Office; and in 1983 to Chief, Programs Management Office; and
WHEREAS, in 1967 Bing was chosen by the Chief of Engineers and Secretary of the Army to represent the Department of the Army in the Arthur S. Flemming Awards competition in recognition of his outstanding service in the Federal Government; and
WHEREAS, Bing was first nominated by the Chicago Area Federal Executive Board as a finalist in the Outstanding Professional Federal Employee competition in 1975, and subsequently received it upon his second nomination in 1976 when he was selected from a pool of 80,000 federal employees; and
WHEREAS, Bing was very well respected in his profession, serving as a mentor to many young professionals and holding the title of Division Instructor for 16 years for courses on Program Development and Execution; and
WHEREAS, Bing received the coveted honor of being inducted into the Army Corps of Engineers Hall of Fame and his picture can still be found on the wall at the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Office Gallery of Distinguished Employees; and
WHEREAS, Bing’s devotion to his family stems from a promise made to his father to take care of his family and has resulted in Bing’s attendance at all of his grandchildren’s recitals, performances, sports games, graduations, and birthdays around the country and his compassion and offers of aid when a family member is sick; and
WHEREAS, Bing has been a loving and devoted husband to Sue for 57 years, and their relationship sets a beautiful example for their children and grandchildren for what love looks like, often celebrating with memorable vacations all around the world with all 19 members of his family; and
WHEREAS, Bing is dearly and deeply loved by all of his family, friends and colleagues who appreciate his dedication to charitable organizations and causes including: Native American Reservations, Boy Scouts, World Wildlife Fund, Flying Tigers, and Team USA; and
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, on behalf of ourselves and staff, do hereby congratulate Bing Chin on the celebration of 36 years of service and contribution to the Army Corps of Engineers and his 80th birthday; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this Resolution be spread upon the permanent Record of Proceedings of the Board of Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, and that a copy of same, suitably embossed, be presented to Bing Chee Chin.
Dated: January 18, 2018
Approved: MARIYANA T. SPYROPOULOS, President; BARBARA J. MCGOWAN, Vice President; FRANK AVILA, Chairman, Committee on Finance; MARTIN J. DURKAN; JOSINA MORITA; DEBRA SHORE; KARI K. STEELE; DAVID J. WALSH; Commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
Approved as to Form and Legality: Susan T. Morakalis, General Counsel, STM:BK:bh