[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 128 (Thursday, September 20, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1576]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNIZING AND CELEBRATING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF MR. ALEX M. PETROVIC

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 20, 2012

  Mr. CLEAVER. Mr. Speaker, I proudly rise today to acknowledge the 
achievements of former Eastern Jackson County Judge, Missouri State 
Representative, United States Marine Corps Veteran and Sugar Creek 
resident, Alex M. Petrovic.
  Alex M. Petrovic was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on September 23, 
1922, the son of Mildred and Michael Petrovic, and has dedicated his 
life to serving his country, state, and community. He attended school 
at Henry Clay School in Kansas City, Missouri, Independence Junior High 
and William Chrisman High School in the city of Independence, Missouri, 
and Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri.
  The proud father of six, grandfather of twelve, and great-grandfather 
of two, Mr. Petrovic was married to the late Frances Diesko Petrovic 
for fifty-seven years before she passed away in 2001. He served as a 
Corporal in the United States Marine Corps from the year 1942 to 1945, 
working as a landfall technician, making maps for the 2nd Marine Air 
Wing, and receiving an honorable discharge following his service in the 
Pacific theatre, in Guadalcanal and Auckland, New Zealand, and Russell 
Island.
  In addition to his military service, he also worked as a railroad 
clerk for the Union Pacific Railroad, machine operator, foreman, and 
sales manager for the Injection Molding Company, as a salesman for 
Busboom Brothers, as a laborer and engineer at the Standard Oil Plant, 
and a divisional manager at Waddell & Reed.
  Alex M. Petrovic served as a Missouri State Legislator from the year 
1962 until the year 1966, as a Democrat, representing the area bounded 
by the Missouri River up until 23rd Street, Blue Ridge, Kansas City, 
and 71 Highway. During his terms, he promoted the Little Blue Valley 
Flood Control program, fought to keep open the Central Missouri State 
University in the face of closure, and helped develop the Truman Sports 
Complex. Mr. Petrovic played an active and accomplished role in local 
Missouri politics, serving in the Independence Sertoma Club, to which 
he was elected President in the year 1964.
  As a State Representative, Mr. Petrovic discovered piles of state 
records abandoned in the basement of the State Building, and in 
response, sponsored and passed legislation to create a system for 
managing Missouri's records, establishing the Missouri State Archives. 
After his terms in the Missouri Legislature, he was elected to serve as 
Eastern District Judge for Jackson County, the same seat which 
President Harry S Truman occupied before his presidency, from the year 
1966 up until the year 1970. As the ``Old Judge,'' he oversaw seven 
bond issues in building the world's largest sports complex in the 
history of sports at the time, for the Kansas City Chiefs and the 
Royals.
  On September 21, 2005, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the 
Archives, and fellow members of the Missouri Legislature created the 
Alex M. Petrovic Reading Room to maintain the historic records of our 
Great State of Missouri throughout the years. Today, the Missouri State 
Archives stores document collections dating from 1770 and is visited by 
4,500 hundred people every year.
  Mr. Petrovic will celebrate his ninetieth birthday on September 23, 
2012, and has given a lifetime of service to his community, and should 
hereby be honored as such. Mr. Speaker, I ask that you and our 
colleagues in the House join me in honoring Mr. Petrovic for his 
lifetime of service and accomplishment.

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