HJ45: Commending Gail Lee.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 45
Offered January 9, 2008
Prefiled December 21, 2007
Commending Gail Lee. 
Patron-- Lewis

WHEREAS, Gail Lee, a teacher at Nandua High School of the Accomack County Public Schools, received the Virginia Association of Soil and Water Conservation District (VASWCD) Conservation Educator of the Year award on December 3, 2007, at the VASWCD annual meeting in Williamsburg; and

WHEREAS, Gail Lee teaches horticulture and coaches Nandua High School's two Envirothon Teams, which have consistently won local, regional, and state awards; and

WHEREAS, a dedicated and gifted teacher, Gail Lee is able to reach out to diverse groups of students in Accomack County, and she teaches adults at Eastern Shore Community College and gifted students at Nandua High School and special needs students at T. H. Badger Career and Technical Education Center; and

WHEREAS, Gail Lee received a doctoral degree in horticulture from Colorado State University and conducted research as well as taught agronomy and horticulture there and at Washington State University, and the University of Arkansas; and her areas of expertise include horticultural science, greenhouse plant production and management, landscaping, biological applications in agriculture and developmental horticulture; and

WHEREAS, after working on a sustainable agriculture program at Delaware Valley College, Gail Lee came to Virginia's Eastern Shore and taught for three years at Northampton County Public Schools, before joining Nandua High School in 1998; and

WHEREAS, Gail Lee also works at the T. H. Badger Career and Technical Education Center, where she helps special needs students attain the practical experience they need to get a job after high school on the Eastern Shore in horticulture and other environmental sciences; and

WHEREAS, a passionate educator who is not afraid to use out of the box methods and a hands-on approach, Gail Lee teaches a class for special needs students from across the county that features activities such as learning to care for the turtles and fish in the center's large aquaculture tank to learning to build a stand for the tank out of PVC pipe; and 

WHEREAS, Gail Lee believes in using nature's classroom in educating her students, by utilizing the Eastern Shore's two National Refuges and its State Park; and each year, her classes raise thousands of plants in the school greenhouse, including poinsettias that are sold during the holidays in the community; and

WHEREAS, Gail Lee teaches her students a variety of skills, including the proper methods of pruning and maintenance of trees and gardens and care and maintenance of school grounds and athletic fields; and her classes have been commissioned to design and construct native plant and specialty gardens, as well as butterfly habitats; and

WHEREAS, committed to helping young people obtain the skills they need to succeed in life, Gail Lee epitomizes the vital role specialized educators may play in utilizing creative teaching methods to educate Virginia's young people; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly commend Dr. Gail Lee on her well-deserved recognition as the VASWCD 2007 Conservation Educator of the Year; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dr. Gail Lee as an expression of the General Assembly’s gratitude for her commitment to the young people of the Eastern Shore and the Commonwealth.