[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 85 (Friday, June 14, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E868-E869]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE RETIREMENT OF WILLIAM ZURKEY FROM AVON LAKE HIGH SCHOOL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 13, 2013

  Ms. KAPTUR. Mr. Speaker, I rise in order to recognize Mr. William G. 
Zurkey who has recently retired after thirty-six years as a music 
teacher, the last twenty-six which have been at Avon Lake High School 
in Avon Lake, Ohio. Having spent his career in education and inspiring 
our youth, I am beyond privileged to celebrate his career.
  William Zurkey holds a bachelor of Music Education from Bowling Green 
State University, a Master's degree in Music from Cleveland State 
University, and has completed course work in his doctoral studies at 
Kent State University. His impressive academic resume is indicative of 
the immense skill and dedication William brought to his job.
  The communities of Avon Lake, Ohio and Cleveland, Ohio know William 
for being a superior director and musical mind. Over the years, his 
high school chorales have received numerous awards, garnered state-
wide, national and international recognition, and have been invited to 
perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City three times. In addition to 
his high school duties, William has served as an adjunct Faculty of 
Music Education at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music in 
Oberlin, Ohio where he directed the Women's Chorale. He has also worked 
with chorales at the Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music in 
Berea, Ohio.

[[Page E869]]

  William's passions for music and mentoring community youth led to 
involvements outside of the classroom as well. He coached football at 
multiple levels, most recently as the head coach of the 8th Grade team 
at Avon Lake. Last year, William was hired to create and direct the 
Cleveland Pops Orchestra Chorus, which performs four times per year.
  William has excelled in his career, having received widespread 
adulation. This past spring, his alma mater Bowling Green State 
University recognized him as an outstanding, notable and accomplished 
alumnus. He has been the president of the Ohio Choral Directors 
Association and has served on the American Choral Directors 
Association's Central Division Board. Finally, William has been named 
multiple times in Who's Who Among America's Teachers, a list of 
student-nominated educators that have been inspiration and influential 
in their students' lives.
  I am delighted to submit a record of William's service and 
accomplishments. I thank him for his career-long commitment to the 
utmost important task of educating our younger generations: I thank him 
for his constant and masterful development of the arts. And I wish him 
only happiness as he enjoys retirement, spending time with his wife and 
their children, staying involved with the Bay United Methodist Church 
in Bay Village, Ohio, and his continued community and musical 
endeavors.

                          ____________________