HR278: Commending Greg Peters.

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 278

Offered February 1, 2021
Commending Greg Peters.
Patron-- Reid

WHEREAS, Greg Peters, an esteemed child advocate and community leader who has supported thousands of families across the Commonwealth as the longtime president and chief executive officer of United Methodist Family Services, will retire in 2021; and

WHEREAS, a graduate of Bridgewater College with a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University, Greg Peters is a licensed clinical social worker who has stayed current with best practices throughout his career through continuing studies at the University of North Carolina, Harvard University, The College of William and Mary, and Leadership Metro Richmond; and

WHEREAS, beginning his career as a social worker, Greg Peters was instrumental to the expansion of United Methodist Family Services (UMFS), a Richmond-based nonprofit serving high-risk children and families, into other parts of the Commonwealth; as a result of his visionary leadership, the organization today manages 18 programs at nine locations statewide; and

WHEREAS, an early and insightful proponent of treatment foster care, in which foster parents are specially trained to assist children who have experienced trauma, Greg Peters has helped thousands of children find loving, supportive families over the course of his career; and

WHEREAS, named president and chief executive officer of UMFS in 2000, Greg Peters’ outsized impact on the community has only grown over the years; as part of UMFS’s steady expansion during his tenure, the organization has established Guardian Palace, an affordable housing facility for seniors in Richmond, and incorporated special education services at its Charterhouse School in both Richmond and Edinburg; and

WHEREAS, an expert in family systems, Greg Peters has been appointed to the State Executive Council of the Children’s Service Act by five governors of the Commonwealth and was also recently named to the Board of Medical Assistance Services by Governor Ralph Northam; and

WHEREAS, Greg Peters has enhanced the provision of family services throughout the Commonwealth as board chair of some of its leading child care and human services associations, including the Virginia Association of Licensed Child Placing Agencies, the Virginia Coalition of Private Provider Associations (VCOPPA), and the Virginia Nonprofit Leadership Council; and

WHEREAS, Greg Peters is also past board chair of the United Methodist Association (UMA) and various state and national health and human services associations; in recognition of his extraordinary support for countless young people and families, he was past recipient of UMA’s Administrator of the Year award and the first private provider to receive VCOPPA’s Distinguished Service Award; and

WHEREAS, prior to his retirement, Greg Peters contributed greatly to the newly established master plan for UMFS, ensuring that the organization’s ability to serve children and families will flourish exponentially for generations to come; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Greg Peters, president and chief executive officer of United Methodist Family Services, hereby be commended on the occasion of his retirement; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Greg Peters as an expression of the House of Delegates’ profound admiration for his inspirational career and best wishes for a long and fulfilling retirement.