| 1 | 1 | | 25 LC 112 3358 |
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| 2 | 2 | | House Resolution 602 |
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| 3 | 3 | | By: Representatives Crawford of the 89 |
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| 4 | 4 | | th |
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| 5 | 5 | | , Tran of the 80 |
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| 6 | 6 | | th |
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| 7 | 7 | | , Au of the 50 |
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| 8 | 8 | | th |
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| 9 | 9 | | , Park of the 107 |
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| 10 | 10 | | th |
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| 11 | 11 | | , |
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| 12 | 12 | | and Hong of the 103 |
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| 13 | 13 | | rd |
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| 14 | 14 | | |
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| 15 | 15 | | A RESOLUTION |
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| 16 | 16 | | Commending Hyong Kun "Sam" Yi (hereinafter "Sam Yi") for his trailblazing and |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1 |
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| 18 | 18 | | extraordinary contributions to Georgia's jazz community; and for other purposes.2 |
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| 19 | 19 | | WHEREAS, Sam Yi was a renowned patron, aficionado, and guiding light of jazz music in3 |
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| 20 | 20 | | Atlanta, having co-founded the celebrated former Atlanta jazz club Churchill Grounds in the4 |
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| 21 | 21 | | historic Fox Theatre building in Midtown; and5 |
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| 22 | 22 | | WHEREAS, Sam Yi was born on May 25, 1963, in Seoul, South Korea, the son of the late6 |
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| 23 | 23 | | Sang Hu Yi and Sang Son Yi, and he immigrated to the United States as an 11-year-old with7 |
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| 24 | 24 | | his parents, eventually settling permanently in the State of Georgia in 1987; and8 |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, he was the beloved husband of Ok Hyun "Nina" Yi (née Park), who always9 |
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| 26 | 26 | | supported his vision and dreams; and10 |
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| 27 | 27 | | WHEREAS, Churchill Grounds, which Sam Yi opened on May 1, 1997, became a Mecca11 |
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| 28 | 28 | | for jazz musicians through his steadfast promotion, helping artists maintain a sense of12 |
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| 29 | 29 | | belonging and providing listeners with a venue to hear the latest talent, nurturing improvised13 |
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| 30 | 30 | | music by giving novices and professionals alike a place to hone their craft before enthusiastic14 |
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| 31 | 31 | | audiences; and15 |
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| 32 | 32 | | H. R. 602 |
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| 33 | 33 | | - 1 - 25 LC 112 3358 |
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| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, in 2003, he expanded Churchill Grounds to include The Whisper Room stage, |
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| 35 | 35 | | 16 |
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| 36 | 36 | | where high-profile musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., the Harper17 |
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| 37 | 37 | | Family (Danny, Terry, Terrence, Philip, Darius, and the late Dishan Harper), and Lady Gaga18 |
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| 38 | 38 | | performed, while also giving then-unknown artists their first break, including Russell Gunn,19 |
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| 39 | 39 | | Lizz Wright, Gary Motley, Bernard Linnette, and David Sánchez; and20 |
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| 40 | 40 | | WHEREAS, Churchill Grounds officially closed on July 31, 2016, an occasion marked by21 |
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| 41 | 41 | | a proclamation from the City of Atlanta designating the day as Churchill Grounds Café Day;22 |
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| 42 | 42 | | and23 |
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| 43 | 43 | | WHEREAS, over the past decade, Sam Yi worked toward providing audiences with a new24 |
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| 44 | 44 | | destination for jazz by organizing jam sessions and pop-up performances at Mason Tavern,25 |
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| 45 | 45 | | Apple House, and his own restaurant, Brew & Bird, in Decatur as well as most recently26 |
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| 46 | 46 | | partnering with the club Ten ATL in East Atlanta with hopes of opening a new Churchill27 |
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| 47 | 47 | | Grounds; and28 |
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| 48 | 48 | | WHEREAS, he was the curator and face of an incubator for Atlanta's jazz talent as well as29 |
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| 49 | 49 | | the reason that jazz is alive in the city to this day; and30 |
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| 50 | 50 | | WHEREAS, Sam Yi unfortunately passed away after an illness and joined the ancestors on31 |
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| 51 | 51 | | February 3, 2025; he is survived by his mother, Sang Son Yi; his sister, Lily Yi Giffin; his32 |
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| 52 | 52 | | wife, Nina Yi; and his nieces and nephews; and33 |
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| 53 | 53 | | WHEREAS, it is abundantly fitting and proper that the extraordinary accomplishments of34 |
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| 54 | 54 | | this distinguished Georgian and pillar of the jazz community be appropriately recognized.35 |
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| 55 | 55 | | H. R. 602 |
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| 56 | 56 | | - 2 - 25 LC 112 3358 |
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| 57 | 57 | | NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that |
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| 58 | 58 | | 36 |
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| 59 | 59 | | the members of this body commend Hyong Kun "Sam" Yi posthumously for his many37 |
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| 60 | 60 | | achievements and express the deepest and most sincere regret at his passing.38 |
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| 61 | 61 | | BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized39 |
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| 62 | 62 | | and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to the40 |
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| 63 | 63 | | family of Hyong Kun "Sam" Yi.41 |
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| 64 | 64 | | H. R. 602 |
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| 65 | 65 | | - 3 - |
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