HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 671 Offered January 10, 2007 Prefiled January 9, 2007 Commending the Fort Defiance High School Envirothon team. ---------- Patron-- Landes ----------

WHEREAS, the outstanding student team of conservationists from Fort Defiance High School of the Augusta County Public Schools won the 2006 Canon Envirothon Championship, North America's largest high school environmental education competition, which was held July 23 through 29, 2006, at Manitoba University in Winnipeg, Canada; and

WHEREAS, the theme of the 2006 Canon Envirothon was “Water Stewardship in a Changing Climate" and required collaboration between team members, demanding even-handed and informed evaluations of aquatics, forestry, soils, wildlife, and water in a specific environment; and

WHEREAS, the Fort Defiance High School Envirothon team's oral presentation was a brilliant team effort outlining the challenging environmental issues of its chosen environment, Virginia's Chesapeake Bay watershed; and

WHEREAS, the Fort Defiance High School Envirothon team beat out the second-place team from Pennsylvania by more than 16 points out of a possible total score of 700; and

WHEREAS, members of the outstanding 2006 Fort Defiance High School championship team—seniors Kate Abshire, Ryan Bugas, Ali Fitzgerald, and Whitney Hawkins and rising junior Bob Michaels—were coached by science teachers Brent Hull and Eric Stogdale and sponsored by the Headwaters Soil and Water Conservation District; and

WHEREAS, the championship performance of the Fort Defiance High School Envirothon team is a tribute to the teamwork and commitment of its members; the guidance of coaches Brent Hull and Eric Stogdale; and the enthusiastic support of parents, the community, and the Augusta County Public Schools; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby congratulate the Fort Defiance High School Envirothon team as the 2006 Canon Envirothon champions and commend the team members on their shining example for students in science programs across the Commonwealth; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Fort Defiance High School Envirothon team as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for its dedication to the study of environmental science and conservation.