2025 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 658
Commending the Honorable Donald W. Merricks.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 17, 2025
Agreed to by the Senate, February 19, 2025
WHEREAS, the Honorable Donald W. Merricks, an esteemed business leader, former public servant, and generous philanthropist, was selected as the 2024 Citizen of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Danville; and
WHEREAS, for nearly 20 years, Donald Don W. Merricks served the Danville community as the president and owner of J.W. Squire Company, a local flooring business; and
WHEREAS, Don Merricks was also a leader in the banking industry for more than two decades, serving as chair, president, and chief executive officer of Virginia Bank and Trust Company and as the executive vice president and chief integration officer of First National Bank; and
WHEREAS, Don Merricks ably represented communities in Southside Virginia as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates from 2008 to 2014; and
WHEREAS, an alumnus of Averett University, Don Merricks recently joined the administration of his alma mater as interim chief financial officer; he has further supported higher education as a member of the Danville Community College Foundation Board and chair of the Board of Trustees at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research; and
WHEREAS, Don Merricks has supported economic development and community growth as a member of the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce; and
WHEREAS, Don Merricks has given generously of his time and talents to enhance the overall quality of life in Danville through his involvement in numerous charitable organizations, including the Hatcher Center, the Salvation Army, Danville-Pittsylvania Community Services, United Way of Danville-Pittsylvania County, and the Community Foundation of the Dan River Region; and
WHEREAS, throughout his distinguished career, Don Merricks has enjoyed the love and support of his wife, Patty, with whom he proudly raised two children and three grandchildren; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Honorable Donald W. Merricks on the occasion of his selection as the 2024 Citizen of the Year by the Kiwanis Club of Danville; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Honorable Donald W. Merricks as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his legacy of service to the Danville community.