S*0435 Resolution, By Mescher and Cleary
 A SENATE RESOLUTION TO COMMEND RAY SMITH AND THE RAY SMITH TAE KWON DO TEAM OF
 DORCHESTER COUNTY FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CHICAGO OPEN
 INTERNATIONAL TAE KWON DO CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND TO RECOGNIZE THE GROUP FOR ITS
 MANY CONTINUED SUCCESSES.

   02/14/07  Senate Introduced and adopted SJ-8

TO COMMEND RAY SMITH AND THE RAY SMITH TAE KWON DO TEAM OF DORCHESTER COUNTY FOR THEIR OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CHICAGO OPEN INTERNATIONAL TAE KWON DO CHAMPIONSHIPS, AND TO RECOGNIZE THE GROUP FOR ITS MANY CONTINUED SUCCESSES.

Whereas, true excellence in Tae Kwon Do requires both mental and physical toughness and determination; and

Whereas, in August 2006, students from the Ray Smith Tae Kwon Do school in Summerville, South Carolina traveled to Chicago, Illinois to compete in the Chicago Open International Tae Kwon Do Championships; and

Whereas, team members ranging in age from six to thirty-nine brought great pride to their individual communities and the State by bringing home twenty-eight medals from the event; and

Whereas, Ray Smith's students also participated in the seventeenth annual Governor's Cup Tae Kwon Do Championships in Greenville, South Carolina, where they competed against nineteen other Tae Kwon Do teams from Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia; and

Whereas, at the Greenville tournament, the team won the team championship for the fifteenth time with a record of seventy-nine medals, including twenty-seven gold medals; and

Whereas, a staple of the Summerville community, Master Ray Smith and his wife, Master Donna Smith, have owned and operated Ray Smith Tae Kwon Do for twenty-six years; and

Whereas, promoting their love of the sport and its principles of discipline, courtesy, self-control, integrity and perseverance, the Smiths serve as outstanding role models for their students and stand as true community leaders; and

Whereas, Mr. Smith has seen exceptional success in his own career in Tae Kwon Do, as he was the United States National Champion, Masters Champion, and Pan Am Open Champion in 1994. In 1995, he was the United States Open Champion, and in 1997 he was the Silver Medalist in the International Tae Kwon Do Championships; and

Whereas, recognized for his outstanding teaching ability, Mr. Smith was named the United States Cup and President's Cup Coach of the Year in 1998; and

Whereas, it is with great pleasure that the members of the South Carolina Senate pause to honor Ray Smith and his many students for their incredible successes, and wish them all the best in coming competitions. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the Senate:

That the members of the Senate of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, commend Ray Smith and the Ray Smith Tae Kwon Do Team of Dorchester County for their outstanding achievement in the Chicago Open International Tae Kwon Do Championships, and recognize the group for its many continued successes.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to Master Ray Smith.