HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 191 Offered January 9, 2008 Prefiled January 9, 2008 Commending Chums Club of Suffolk on the occasion of its 70th anniversary. ---------- Patron-- Jones, S.C. ----------

WHEREAS, the Chums Club of Suffolk celebrated in 2007 its 70th anniversary of networking, camaraderie and outstanding service to others in the community; and

WHEREAS, on May 5, 2007, the members and guests of the Chums Club of Suffolk celebrated its birthday at a gala dinner and dance held at the Holland Community Center; and

WHEREAS, Chums Club of Suffolk was founded in 1937 by Mrs. Aquila Graham, a music teacher in the former Nansemond County School System, to provide her daughter and other young women with opportunities to add meaning and enrichment to their school, personal, and community life; the girls were attending Nansemond Collegiate Institute at the time; and

WHEREAS, Mrs. Madelaine Wilson, the last surviving charter member, was elected as charter president and other charter members were the late Catherine Chapman, Jessie Cross, Nannie Graham, Lillian Holiman, Ernestine Jenkins, and Evelyn Smith; and

WHEREAS, the Chums Club of Suffolk meetings were first held in various member's homes and dues cost fifteen cents a week; and

WHEREAS, local physician Dr. Henry Bland aided the fledgling Chums Club members by allowing them to hold their club meetings in the waiting room of his medical office, which was then located in Dr. Barnes Drugstore on East Washington Street; and

WHEREAS, the appreciative Chums Club of Suffolk paid Dr. Bland for his kindness in installments as the club grew in membership and funds, and he received special recognition and a pair of silver cuff links at the club's 25th anniversary award banquet; and

WHEREAS, the Chums Club of Suffolk has a motto of "Always Chums, Chums Always," the club flower is the cheerful yellow chrysanthemum, and the organization has provided an excellent forum for creative ideas and community service, as well as personal and professional networking for all of its members for 70 years; and

WHEREAS, the Chums Club of Suffolk sponsors various charitable activities and projects throughout the year, including student scholarship awards and distributing food and gift baskets for residents in need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate the Chums Club of Suffolk on the occasion of its 70th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Mary Herndon, the president of the Chums Club of Suffolk, on behalf of its many outstanding members as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude to the club for its service to the community of Suffolk.