By Brian Trompeter
Northern Virginia members of the House of Delegates have introduced resolutions this year honoring outstanding local organizations, sports teams and residents.
The resolutions, which are in various stages of approval, likely will pass unimpeded if long-standing traditions hold.
Del. Kathleen Murphy (D-McLean-Great Falls) has filed resolutions honoring:
• The Vienna Wireless Society Inc., which this year is celebrating its 60th anniversary. The group’s licensed amateur-radio operators conduct a continuous program of radio-related scientific, technological, educational, recreational and emergency-service activities.
The organization, which is affiliated with the American Radio Relay League, educates local Boy Scouts about amateur-radio practices, has provided communications support for events such as the Marine Corps Marathon and James Madison High School Turkey Trot and presidential inaugurations.
• Pamela Grosvenor, an 11-year board member of the Great Falls Citizens Association, for receiving the group’s 2022 Glen Sjoblom Award last July. The award lauded her “achievements that have enhanced the quality of life in the community.”
Grosvenor has striven to “build consensus and create common sense, data-driven solutions” and “earned the admiration of her colleagues for her unparalleled work ethic, impeccable research skills and attention to detail,” the resolution read.
• Retired U.S. Army veteran Annie Walker for more than two decades of service to the commonwealth of Virginia, including 17 years as deputy commissioner of the Department of Veterans Services.
Walker has “touched countless lives and helped make the Commonwealth one of the best places for veterans to live, work and thrive,” the resolution read.
• Retired U.S. Navy Cmdr. Claudia Flores, who worked as a cryptographer, linguist and intelligence officer in the military and completed combat deployments on the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower before retiring in 2017.
Flores joined the Virginia Department of Veterans Services in 2017 and now serves as its director of policy and planning, where she is “integral to the development of the agency’s legislative proposals and is highly involved in the analysis and evaluation of all state and federal legislation affecting veterans in the Commonwealth,” according to Murphy’s resolution.
• Supervisor John Foust (D), who is in his 16th year of representing Dranesville District and will step down Dec. 31 after four terms in office.
Foust, a lawyer who formerly was president of the McLean Citizens Association, chairs the Board of Supervisors’ Housing Committee and Economic Advisory Commission. He has advocated for full-day kindergarten countywide, higher teacher pay, funding the widening of Route 7, implementing road and pedestrian projects, addressing climate change and advancing stormwater projects.
“Through hard work, visionary leadership and steadfast dedication to his constituents, John Foust has helped to make Northern Virginia a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family,” the resolution stated.
• The late Katherine Hendricks Thomas, a retired U.S. Marine who became a behavioral-health researcher, educator, author and veterans’ health advocate.
Thomas, who died April 5, 2022, was a “cherished member of the Northern Virginia community whose leadership and advocacy made an impact on countless lives,” Murphy’s resolution noted.
Del. Marcus Simon (D-McLean) filed a resolution lauding:
• Beyer Auto Group, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. Founded by Don and Nancy Beyer in 1973 as a small Volvo dealership in Falls Church, the company now has seven other locations, some of which also sell Mazdas, Subarus, Kias, Volkswagens and Land Rovers.
“Through straightforward pricing and a tireless commitment to resolving any problems that may occur, the Beyer Auto Group’s dealerships have earned the esteem of their customers and built a reputation for perfection that is known throughout the Northern Virginia community,” Simon’s resolution read.
Del. Holly Seibold (D-Oakton-Vienna) filed resolutions honoring:
• Michael Gene Rhodes, an entrepreneur, community leader and youth athletics coach in Vienna who died Dec. 25, 2022.
Rhodes “helped generations of young men and women achieve their fullest potential” and was a “dedicated leader who spent countless hours strategizing with his fellow coaches [and] brought joy to others through his sharp wit and sense of humor,” the resolution read.
• The James Madison High School softball team, which on June 11, 2022, won the Virginia High School League Class 6 state championship. The team finished its season with a 24–3 record and earned its third state title in five years.
The championship victory was a ”tribute to the skill and dedication of all the student-athletes, the leadership and guidance of coaches and staff, and the passionate support of the entire James Madison High School community,” according to Seibold’s resolution.
• The Vienna Girls Softball League for its fund-raising efforts last year to support repairs and renovations at Caffi Fields near the Vienna Community Center.
The league “developed a plan to regrade infields to reduce water retention, level the ground between infields and outfields, and put sod between the dugouts and diamonds, as well as seek additional long-term town funding for a complete overhaul of the fields,” the resolution read.
• Alejandro Buxton, founder and chief executive officer of Smell of Love Candles, who at age 12 last year became the youngest entrepreneur to open a venture at Tysons Corner Center.
“Alejandro Buxton’s accomplishments are a testament to his hard work and dedication and serve as inspiration to all Virginians,” the resolution stated.
• George C. Marshall High School senior Ilia Malinin, who won the gold medal at the Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif., on Jan. 29 this year.
Malinin at the 2022 CS U.S. International Figure Skating Classic became the “first and only skater to land a quadruple axel in international competition, a maneuver that involves four and a half revolutions and that is widely regarded as the most difficult jump in figure skating,” the resolution read.
Del. Rip Sullivan (D-McLean-Arlington) introduced resolutions commending:
• Late educator Jayne Francis Gourley Karsten, who taught all over the country, including at Langley High School, and co-authored a primary-source history book, “Our Mothers Before Us: Women and Democracy, 1789-1920.”
Karsten, who retired in 2017 at age 92 and died Feb. 23 this year, was an “exceptional educator who made a profound and lasting impact on the communities of McLean and Annapolis,” the resolution noted.
* Metrobus, which celebrated its 50th anniversary this year. Founded Feb. 4, 1973, after the acquisition and merger of several local transit companies, Metrobus now operates a 1,600-bus fleet across a 1,500-square-mile area in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia.
“Metrobus has dedicated operators who take pride in providing reliable and trusted service daily throughout the national capital region,” according to the resolution.
