HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 265 Offered January 21, 2008 Commending Lonnie Forest Craft. ----------
Patrons-- Griffith, Fralin, Poindexter and Ware, O.; Senators: Edwards and Smith
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WHEREAS, First Sergeant Lonnie Forest Craft is commended for his 41 years of outstanding service to the Virginia Department of State Police and his continued and valued public service to the citizens of the Commonwealth since his retirement in 1990; and

WHEREAS, Lonnie Craft was first employed as a probationary state trooper with the Virginia State Police on September 16, 1949, and assigned to Division 1 in Petersburg at the Basic Training School from October 10, 1949, to December 16, 1949; and

WHEREAS, after completing his training, Lonnie Craft was appointed a trooper on December 19, 1949, and assigned to Division 5 in Newport News; and over the years, Trooper Craft served the citizens of Hilton Village and then those in the Denbigh, Newport News, Hampton, and Williamsburg communities with great skill and dedication; and

WHEREAS, on April 16, 1962, Trooper Craft was promoted to investigator and transferred to Division 2 in Culpeper; and when he was promoted to sergeant on February 1, 1970, he joined Division 1 in Fredericksburg as sergeant-in-charge; and

WHEREAS, Sergeant Craft was promoted on July 1, 1974, to first sergeant and served the State Police in its Division of Investigation first in Salem and then in Roanoke; and

WHEREAS, a proven leader with vast experience, First Sergeant Craft became investigation manager for the Bureau of Criminal Investigation, General Investigations Division, Salem, on August 16, 1985, where he served with distinction until his retirement on January 1, 1990; and

WHEREAS, since 1991, First Sergeant Craft has continued to serve the residents of Roanoke and the Virginia State Police with great care and enthusiasm in a part-time, temporary position as applicant investigator; and

WHEREAS, an exemplary trooper who is highly respected and admired by his fellow troopers, First Sergeant Craft throughout his distinguished career has been dedicated to preserving the life and property of Virginia's citizens and upholding the laws of the Commonwealth to the best of his ability; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend and congratulate First Sergeant Lonnie Forest Craft on his commitment to quality law-enforcement services for all of his fellow citizens and his invaluable and longtime public service to the Virginia Department of State Police; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to First Sergeant Lonnie Forest Craft as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude for his many achievements and best wishes for a happy and much deserved retirement.