HJ764: Commending the Virginia Capitol Foundation.


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 764
Commending the Virginia Capitol Foundation.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 25, 2013
Agreed to by the Senate, January 31, 2013

 

WHEREAS, the Virginia Capitol Foundation is the nonprofit advocate for the Capitol, Capitol Square, and the Governor’s Mansion which strives to enhance the educational, cultural, and economic potential of these historic treasures of the Commonwealth through program development, community engagement, and fundraising; and

WHEREAS, these programmatic efforts are accomplished in partnership with the Virginia House of Delegates, the Senate of Virginia, and the Executive Branch; with the generous support of donors, the Virginia Capitol Foundation has left an impressive mark on Capitol Square since its inception in 2004; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Capitol Foundation is led by a group of community leaders across the Commonwealth who provide important guidance and support; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Capitol Foundation has successfully raised more than $3 million in donations from philanthropic individuals and families, the business community, and private charitable foundations to support multiple projects on Capitol Square which have included development of educational programs, preservation of historic building fabric and landscape, and acquisition of art; and

WHEREAS, noteworthy achievements of the Virginia Capitol Foundation include: (i) the identification, documentation, and conservation of the eighteenth century woodwork in the Jefferson-designed portion of the Capitol which was made possible by the Robert G. Cabell III and Maude Morgan Cabell Foundation; (ii) restoration of the Bell Tower, which was funded in part through a grant by the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution; (iii) restoration of the 1818 Capitol Square Fence, which is one of the oldest and most extensive examples of a cast iron fence in the United States; the restoration was funded by Roller-Bottimore Foundation, Marietta McNeill Morgan and Samuel Tate Morgan, Jr. Foundation, the French Heritage Society, and the Commonwealth Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and others; (iv) initiation of the Pathway to Liberty inscribed brick campaign and the adoption and stewardship of benches and trees on Capitol Square to support the implementation of the Capitol Square Landscape Master Plan, which will restore one of the oldest enclosed public parks with one of the most significant gardens in the United States by retaining existing elements of its 1816 design, reintroducing pathways from the 1850 plan, and returning surfaces around the Capitol to their 1906 appearance; (v) the commission of Thomas Jefferson, Architect of Liberty, a larger-than-life-size bronze portrait sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, who is depicted as the architect of the Capitol, and the sculpture was created by StudioEIS and funded by the generosity of the Thomas F. Farrell, II Family, the William H. Goodwin, Jr., Family, and the Brenton S. Halsey Family; the statue will serve as a guidepost in the Visitor Extension of the Capitol for visitors; and (vi) production of Keepers of the Flame, the first educational film about the Capitol, which tells the story of Virginia’s representative government, celebrates the Commonwealth’s central role in American history, and inspires viewers to appreciate and become involved with public service; the film was funded by Robins Foundation, Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, Gwathmey Memorial Trust, Windsor Foundation, Garland & Agnes Taylor Gray Foundation, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation serving Richmond and Central Virginia, the corporate foundations for Phillip Morris USA, Dominion Resources, Genworth, MeadWestvaco, and Wells Fargo, and other generous individuals; and

WHEREAS, for more than two centuries, the Capitol and the other historic treasures on Capitol Square have represented our nation’s ideals of freedom and democracy; and

WHEREAS, the Capitol belongs to every citizen in Virginia, and the Virginia Capitol Foundation is dedicated to preserving this precious asset and celebrating it for future generations; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Virginia Capitol Foundation; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the chairman and executive director of the Virginia Capitol Foundation as an expression of the General Assembly's sincere appreciation of its dedicated service to the Commonwealth.


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 764
Offered January 21, 2013
Commending the Virginia Capitol Foundation.
Patron-- Peace

WHEREAS, the Virginia Capitol Foundation is the nonprofit advocate for the Capitol, Capitol Square, and the Governor’s Mansion which strives to enhance the educational, cultural, and economic potential of these historic treasures of the Commonwealth through program development, community engagement, and fundraising; and

WHEREAS, these programmatic efforts are accomplished in partnership with the Virginia House of Delegates, the Senate of Virginia, and the Executive Branch; with the generous support of donors, the Virginia Capitol Foundation has left an impressive mark on Capitol Square since its inception in 2004; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Capitol Foundation is led by a group of community leaders across the Commonwealth who provide important guidance and support; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia Capitol Foundation has successfully raised more than $3 million in donations from philanthropic individuals and families, the business community, and private charitable foundations to support multiple projects on Capitol Square which have included development of educational programs, preservation of historic building fabric and landscape, and acquisition of art; and

WHEREAS, noteworthy achievements of the Virginia Capitol Foundation include: (i) the identification, documentation, and conservation of the 18th century woodwork in the Jefferson-designed portion of the Capitol which was made possible by the Robert G. Cabell III and Maude Morgan Cabell Foundation; (ii) restoration of the Bell Tower, which was funded in part through a grant by the Virginia Daughters of the American Revolution; (iii) restoration of the 1818 Capitol Square Fence, which is one of the oldest and most extensive examples of a cast iron fence in the United States; the restoration was funded by Roller-Bottimore Foundation, Marietta McNeill Morgan and Samuel Tate Morgan, Jr. Foundation, the French Heritage Society, and the Commonwealth Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution and others; (iv) initiation of the Pathway to Liberty inscribed brick campaign and the adoption and stewardship of benches and trees on Capitol Square to support the implementation of the Capitol Square Landscape Master Plan, which will restore one of the oldest enclosed public parks with one of the most significant gardens in the United States by retaining existing elements of its 1816 design, reintroducing pathways from the 1850 plan, and returning surfaces around the Capitol to their 1906 appearance; (v) the commission of Thomas Jefferson, Architect of Liberty, a larger-than-life-size bronze portrait sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, who is depicted as the architect of the Capitol, and the sculpture was created by StudioEIS and funded by the generosity of the Thomas F. Farrell, II Family, the William H. Goodwin, Jr. Family, and the Brenton S. Halsey Family; the statue will serve as a guidepost in the Visitor Extension of the Capitol for visitors; and (vi) production of Keepers of the Flame, the first educational film about the Capitol, which tells the story of Virginia’s representative government, celebrates the Commonwealth’s central role in American history, and inspires viewers to appreciate and become involved with public service; the film was funded by Robins Foundation, Mary Morton Parsons Foundation, Gwathmey Memorial Trust, Windsor Foundation, Garland & Agnes Taylor Gray Foundation, a supporting organization of the Community Foundation serving Richmond and Central Virginia, the corporate foundations for Phillip Morris USA, Dominion Resources, Genworth, MeadWestvaco, and Wells Fargo, and other generous individuals; and

WHEREAS, for more than two centuries, the Capitol and the other historic treasures on Capitol Square have represented our nation’s ideals of freedom and democracy; and

WHEREAS, the Capitol belongs to every citizen in Virginia, and the Virginia Capitol Foundation is dedicated to preserving this precious asset and celebrating it for future generations; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Virginia Capitol Foundation; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the chairman and executive director of the Virginia Capitol Foundation as an expression of the General Assembly's sincere appreciation of its dedicated service to the Commonwealth.