HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 514 Offered March 6, 2006 Commending the Falls Church News-Press on the occasion of its 15th anniversary. ---------- Patrons-- Scott, J.M., Ebbin, and Hull; Senator: Whipple ----------

WHEREAS, first distributed on March 28, 1991, the Falls Church News-Press, a weekly newspaper that serves the City of Falls Church and Northern Virginia, will celebrate its 15th anniversary in 2006; and

WHEREAS, the anniversary is a significant milestone for the owner and editor-in-chief, Nicholas F. Benton, who founded the newspaper in 1991, and who has guided the growth of the Falls Church News-Press from an original circulation of 7,400 readers to over 30,100; and

WHEREAS, the Falls Church News-Press has twice been named Business of the Year by the City of Falls Church, in 1991 and 2001, and received the City’s Business Contribution to the Community Award in 1997; and

WHEREAS, Nicholas Benton has been honored with the Greater Falls Church Chamber of Commerce’s Pillar of the Community award in 1992 and 2003, named to the Virginia School Boards Association's Media Honor Roll in 1998 and 2005, and was the recipient of the 2005 Hodding Carter Outstanding Journalism Award presented by the Northern Virginia chapter of the American Society for Public Administration; and

WHEREAS, in 2005 Nicholas Benton established the Diversity Affirmation Education Fund to promote acceptance of diversity by students in the Falls Church school system; and

WHEREAS, the Falls Church News-Press sponsors an annual food drive, an annual high school scholarship, and an annual Day at the Ball Game, and supports numerous other community causes and activities; and

WHEREAS, committed to improving the quality of life for all of the citizens of Falls Church, Nicholas Benton and the Falls Church News-Press have employed and trained many young people from the community and provided an effective vehicle for numerous local businesses to advertise and grow their enterprises; and

WHEREAS, the Falls Church News-Press has been an advocate for affordable housing, quality education, support for the disenfranchised, and human rights and equality, among other issues, and is one of the few general interest community newspapers in the nation to publish a weekly column dedicated to gay and lesbian justice issues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend and congratulate the Falls Church News-Press on the occasion of its 15th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Nicholas F. Benton on behalf of the Falls Church News-Press as an expression of the General Assembly's appreciation of its many achievements and best wishes for continued success.