SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1937
WHEREAS, Ronald K. Kirchoff served the Missouri Senate selflessly and diligently for more than 33 years; and
WHEREAS, the service of Ronald K. Kirchoff began as an employee in the Senate mailroom in 1969; and
WHEREAS, ever ready to serve the Senate in whatever manner was demanded, Ronald Kirchoff began the modernization of the Senate's internal operation by establishing and running the Senate printing facility, including personally reviewing documents and publications to ensure their accuracy and propriety; and
WHEREAS, in the face of changing demands placed upon state governments by the citizens they served, Ron Kirchoff facilitated the establishment of a full-time professional staff in the Missouri Senate; and
WHEREAS, as the first Senate Administrator in Missouri history, so serving from 1976 until 2002, Ron Kirchoff dedicated his career to the protection of the Missouri Senate and its members; and
WHEREAS, Ron Kirchoff completed his tenure with the Senate in 2003, serving as director of research, and after his retirement continued throughout his life to share his knowledge and expertise of Senate rules and history to those seeking his guidance; and
WHEREAS, known for his keen intelligence, quiet resolve and unshakeable calm, Ron Kirchoff was the unimpeachable source of Senate history and an uncompromised authority on Senate procedure; and
WHEREAS, Ron Kirchoff's command of the intricacies, evolution and applications of the Rules of the Senate was without equal; and
WHEREAS, Ron Kirchoff's steady and personable administrative style helped guide the Senate through four decades; and
WHEREAS, Ron Kirchoff's leadership paved the way for numerous structural and technological improvements to the Senate chamber, offices, and galleries, and his foresight brought vital improvements, including computerization and modernization of Senate operations; and
WHEREAS, Ron Kirchoff always placed service to the Senate, and to the citizens, above himself; and
WHEREAS, a truer friend to the Missouri Senate and Senators will never exist:
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that we, the members of the Missouri Senate, Ninety-Second General Assembly, join unanimously in naming the West Gallery of the Senate Chamber the Ronald K. Kirchoff Gallery, in lasting honor and recognition of the dedication, sacrifice and enduring contributions of this great man to the Senate of the State of Missouri and to the citizens by whose consent the Senate serves.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Secretary of the Senate be instructed to prepare a properly inscribed copy of this resolution for the family of Ronald K. Kirchoff.