Michigan Votes Forum

Introduced in the Senate on January 10, 2007, of tribute offered as a memorial for Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States

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Senator Hardiman asked and was granted unanimous consent to make a statement and moved that the statement be printed in the Journal. The motion prevailed. Senator Hardiman's statement is as follows: I rise today to offer comments on the Senate resolution in honor of President Ford. The past days and weeks has been a time to reflect on this remarkable man. As we start the 94th session of the Michigan Legislature, I would like to talk about what Michigan's President means to his hometown Grand Rapids, to the state of Michigan, and what he might mean for our work here. In a time of term limits, media-driven environment when political legacies are made or broken in one election or two, it takes a man and a leader like President Gerald R. Ford to remind us of more lasting things. When Grand Rapids sent young Gerald R. Ford to Washington in 1949, it knew that it was sending a man of promise and ability. We know now that he was destined to achieve great things and that he would act greatly and inspire great actions from others. Gerald Ford's legacy is that he took the better qualities of his hometown, of his state, and especially of his faith in God. He made them the basis for his private and public life. When the toughest political and leadership challenges came his way, those qualities did not fail him. He did not fail Michigan, he did not fail Grand Rapids, and we bare the name of Gerald R. Ford's hometown with great pride. What were these qualities? We heard them repeated over and over again in the eulogies and in the tributes--integrity, truthfulness, discipline, and resolve in difficult situations. People have described these as Midwest virtues or as middle-class values. Grand Rapids and Michigan have been paid the highest compliment as people associate President Ford's character with his hometown and his home state. Many people in our community have thought or spoken about a personal connection they have had with President Ford. I feel a connection to him because we both came to Grand Rapids as young children with few advantages. We benefited from our strong mothers and our good education at South High School, a good urban school. We also benefited from a community where faith and faith-based institutions are important. Finally, we benefited from a community where there is an emphasis and consensus on agreement between the public and private sectors and an eye toward the common good. Four years ago on the day that I took the oath of office as a Senator for the first time, there were so many memorable moments and inspirations. One of the most significant was the phone call my good friend, Ambassador Peter Secchia, arranged for me with President Ford. As a former legislator himself, his brief words of greetings and encouragement where very meaningful to me. I hope that we will follow the example President Ford provided us for our work here in the Senate. My prayer is that wewill conduct ourselves with clear-mindedness, search for the common good across party lines, and reflect President Ford's commitment to lasting achievement. President Gerald R. Ford never forgot where he came from. He was described as the common person, a man of the common person. He was one of us. He was friendly and accessible, although he had the great honor of serving in the office of the Presidency, the office did not have him. He exemplified the very essence of a servant leader. He spoke the principles of his faith not by words, but by the life he lived. His legacy will continue to inspire us. I hope that we will conduct ourselves in a way that honors his memory and continues the high standard of public service he showed.

Senator Basham's statement is as follows: I grew up and was born in Roanoke, Virginia, as a matter of fact, in northwest Roanoke. Roanoke was basically divided into four sections. Northwest was a blue-collar and tough area of the city--was, is, and probably will be for a number of years. It's interesting, when I came to Michigan and was elected to the State Legislature in 1997, I met Nay Thornhill and he and Charlie were always able to identify the same landmarks that I would. For instance, I would call Nay "Krispy Kreme" and he knew exactly what I meant because we had Krispy Kremes in Roanoke, Virginia, long before they had them in Michigan. We had a lot in common. He'd mention a landmark or street and I would mention another one. We went back and forth and even did some of that with Charlie. What was interesting about Charlie, I called my brother and told him about Charlie's passing and he said, "Yeah, it was in the Roanoke Times." It was a big article about Charlie, dated Saturday, December 23, 2006. He sent me the article, so I framed it and will give it to Nay after this session. That was a time when Charlie and I went to school, we were never allowed to go to school together. I went to a segregated school. I never went to school with a black. The way we remember, if we want to plan our future, we need to remember the past. Charlie was a diplomat. He broke the mold in Roanoke, Virginia. He actually exemplified everything good about black folks. They are just like white folks. He not only exemplified everything that was good, but he was extraordinary in the way that he did it. He had a vision. He had a good temperament. I'm proud to call him and Nay my friends, my neighbors. Anyway, I wanted to let this Legislature know that when I did a school event for Martin Luther King Day, Monday a week ago, I thought about Charlie and some of the stuff that folks like Dr.Martin Luther King did in a big way. Charlie Thornhill did in maybe a smaller way, but it was still just as significant. His role in changing this country for the better is one that will actually go down in history. So a lot of folks in years to come will remember that it is folks like Charlie "Mad Dog" Thornhill who set the bar pretty high. Future generations will have to work hard to achieve it

Senator Sanborn's statement is as follows: You know, over the years Charlie and I had gotten to be very good friends. As you might imagine, there was that Spartan connection. He was a friend to all of us here who knew him. He was a friend to so many young people who served as messengers here, including my former staffer Andrew Doerr, who was the head of the messengers and a Spartan and just absolutely loved Charlie and the example he set. He was a mentor to the football players and often went in and spoke to the Spartan team at halftime to fire those guys up, or before the game and took them under his wing. Charlie just loved working with the young people. He loved Spartan football; he truly did. He loved his sons Joshua and Kaleb. For many, many hours, we shared stories about our sons playing sports. I told lies to him about my athletic prowess, but nonetheless, I had a real personal example with Charlie with regard to my own son who went to Michigan State. He went out for baseball and got cut. The next year he went out again. The whole time Charlie kept telling him what to do, how to train, and the weight lifting to do. He just took him under his wing. He'd talk with him on the telephone and when he saw him and would just encourage him. The third time was a charm and I thank Charlie for taking that personal interest in him. That's the way Charlie was, though. Right, Nay? He loved these young people. He loved Spartans. He loved these young people here in the Senate. He loved his sons. He loved his beautiful wife. The colleagues here loved Charlie, right? We loved him. He was a hero to the young people he mentored. Majority Leader Bishop, I saw that look--that look, that snarl, that growl. You know, I remember Chad--the last day I saw Charlie, we were standing out here and we were doing a memorial tribute and Charlie stood with those broad shoulders and that intensity at the door. He wasn't going to let us in the door because we had been out in the lobby. He wasn't going to let us interfere with the Senate processes that went on. Chad, for some unknown reason to me, looked to me, and I think it was Tony Stamas who was out there with us, maybe. He looked at Charlie and said, "You know, I think the three of us, if we rush him, could take him." Charlie looked back at us and, Senator Bishop, I know that look. He snarled at us. For the first time in my life, I knew what an opposing quarterback must have felt looking at Charlie Thornhill from across the line. It was the fear of God that he put in us. Courageously, I looked at Chad and said, "You're on your own this time." Charlie, the young man knows not of what he speaks. But, Charlie, we'll miss you. We all loved you here. Charlie, Go Green! Go White! Go State!

Senator Whitmer's statement is as follows: I remember when I got news that Charlie passed away and it was so sad, but a few days later, I went over to the memorial. I know a number of you were there as well. It was the most wonderful memorial I could have imagined for Charlie Thornhill. It took place at the Michigan State Stadium. When you got off the elevator, there were hundreds of people there signing books and listening to Motown music, as Charlie would have wanted. There was so much laughter. The people who stood up to speak, they addressed and they talked about all of these great stories about Charlie from when he was in college to when he was growing up in Virginia, when he was serving as a sergeant. Mike did a beautiful job on behalf of many of the sergeants. There were all of these wonderful stories. I was so proud to have known him, even though I was one of the newer members here in the Senate. Mad Dog and I bonded very quickly over, obviously, Michigan State University. My husband worked here in the Senate for many years and knew Mad Dog very well. I've always been a big fan of Nay's from my time in the House, so Mad Dog and I bonded very quickly. Actually, it wasn't until a few months ago that I even learned his first name was Charlie. I always knew him as Mad Dog. When I think of Mad Dog, I think of his warm smile and the twinkle in his eyes. I think of his humor. I'll never forget, we were standing in the first floor of the Farnum Building and all of the sergeants were sitting around. He looked at me and he said, "Senator, what dorm did you live in over at Michigan State?" I said, "Wonders." He said, "You know, I thought you looked familiar," intimating that we were at MSU at the same time. Of course, I was there about 25 years after Charlie. I pointed out that perhaps he recognized me when he was there to visit Josh. He always talked about his family, Lauri, Josh, Kaleb, and his granddaughter, and, of course, his brother Nay. One of the things I remember Charlie talking about most, though, besides his family, of course, was mentoring and how he spent a lot of time when he wasn't here with us and he wasn't home with his family, mentoring kids in this community, helping kids who didn't have parents who could be involved or who didn't have parents at all. That was something he was going to dedicate more of his time to after the boys were out and living their own lives. That was something he was really looking forward to and that he was enjoying during his time. I know that there are many people in this community, this broad community of Lansing and Greater Lansing, whom he has touched, people in this building, but many people whom we will never meet, whom we will never know who feel his absence every day. His memory will live on in this scholarship. I think it's a great compliment to Charlie, the spirit, and the type of person he was. I want to compliment both of the leaders of the State Senate for doing this and putting this together because I think that it is a wonderful thing to do on behalf of a wonderful man who made a huge impact on the many lives and people here in Lansing

Senator Scott's statement is as follows: I rise to give condolence to the family of Mr.Charlie Thornhill. I got to know Charlie quite well in my years over here in the Senate. He was a very, very special person. So I do thank God for his life, for who he was, and to all of us whom he touched. It's not about how long we are here, but it's about what we do while we're here. Do we make a difference in someone's life? Charlie certainly did that. I want to thank him for that. I was out of town when he passed away. When I got the news, it was truly hard to believe because it wasn't but maybe a week or so before that that Nay and I sat over at a fundraiser. We talked about Charlie and their lives growing up. That's what Charlie and I would talk about, how our parents raised us. We had just that wonderful, warm camaraderie. I know he and Nay had a special bonding. I remember us laughing about Nay saying they would talk every day if they didn't just pick up the phone and say a couple of words to one another. So I just want to say to Nay and to his wife and children that we all truly did love Charlie because Charlie gave love. I remember when I brought in an apple pie. I gave it to him and said, "This is for you and your guys." Then I found out later that Charlie didn't give that pie to anybody. Charlie said, "No, I tasted it and I said this is going home with me." He would always say to me, "When are you going to bring another apple pie in here?" I said, "When Jason brings those apples in again in the fall, then I will make some more pies and bring them in. But this time you will have to share with everybody, Charlie." He just looked at me and laughed. So, anyway, I do want to thank Charlie for all of the encouragement that he always gave me and just the kind of individual he was. So I know he is resting in Heaven. Rest on, Charlie.

Senator Switalski's statement is as follows: The scholarship is most appropriate for Charlie because of his great devotion to young people. The greatest thing you could ever have in the Senate would be if you were here late in the afternoon and had a school group visiting and Charlie was on duty. Those kids would come in and when they would find out that Charlie's nickname was "Mad Dog," their eyes would get wide and you knew they weren't going to touch anybody's desk. But when they saw his smile and they felt his warmth, they came to feel about him the way we all do here in the Senate. Rest in peace, Charlie.

Senator Schauer's statement is as follows: I wasn't sure I was going to speak, but as co-sponsor of the resolution along with Senator Bishop, I wanted to make a brief remark. I, along with a number of colleagues, was able to be at Spartan Stadium for the memorial service for Charlie. At sine die, I commented on the passing of Charlie and what Charlie means to us. It's fitting, I guess about a month after Charlie's passing, we're here again talking about this very special friend. Of course, my heart goes out to Charlie's family, but my heart also goes out to Charlie's fellow sergeants, who I know where his family. In so many ways, Charlie was the heart and soul of this Senate. I regret for you new members sitting in this chamber for what I guess is the second official time that you didn't get to know Charlie the way the rest of us did. He was an amazing individual, an amazing blend of intensity, of values, of passion, and compassion. I hope that the sense of this body that has been expressed today and this legislation are felt by all of those who loved Charlie.