2025 SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 625
Commending Senior Statesmen of Virginia.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 17, 2025
WHEREAS, for three decades, Senior Statesmen of Virginia has promoted civic engagement and enabled senior residents of the Commonwealth to identify and better articulate their viewpoints on important issues; and
WHEREAS, Senior Statesmen of Virginia was established in 1995, after five Charlottesville residents met at the Senior Center and discussed creating an organization that would help individuals meet with candidates for elected office and communicate with local leaders on challenges facing their communities; and
WHEREAS, the founding members of Senior Statesmen of Virginia were Gene Ecton Davis, Joe Lieberman, Mike Ludgate, Grace Patrick, and Ray Torry; and
WHEREAS, the mission of Senior Statesmen of Virginia is to enable seniors to identify and articulate their viewpoints on the issues affecting all residents of the Commonwealth, to encourage knowledge of and active participation in the legislative process, to disseminate information about social, governmental, and educational institutions, and to prepare resolutions stating positions on member-selected issues for distribution to appropriate public officials; and
WHEREAS, Senior Statesmen of Virginia has provided more than 300 insightful, informative, and motivating community programs to encourage senior engagement; and
WHEREAS, the Senior Statesmen of Virginia records have been accepted and are now permanently archived at the University of Virginia's Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library, which specializes in the history of the Commonwealth and the southeastern United States; and
WHEREAS, Gene Ecton Davis, the surviving co-founder of Senior Statesmen of Virginia, was recognized for her legacy of outstanding achievements at the organization's annual meeting in 2024; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Senior Statesmen of Virginia hereby be commended on the occasion of its 30th anniversary of promoting a better informed and well-engaged citizenry; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Senior Statesmen of Virginia as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the organization's legacy of contributions to civic engagement among seniors in the Commonwealth.