Bill Text: VA HJR183 | 2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled


Bill Title: Commending Saunders Brothers, Inc.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2016-02-05 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ183ER) [HJR183 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2016-HJR183-Enrolled.html

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 183
Commending Saunders Brothers, Inc.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 29, 2016
Agreed to by the Senate, February 4, 2016

WHEREAS, in 2015, Saunders Brothers, Inc., a well-regarded and popular orchard, wholesale nursery, and farm market in Piney River, celebrated 100 years as a successful family-run business in Nelson County; and

WHEREAS, the company was started in 1915 by five brothers, Sam, Dick, Doc, William, and Massie Saunders; as young boys they worked as a team and pooled the money they made from selling rabbits and working in farm fields, forming a family partnership; and

WHEREAS, the Saunders brothers worked hard in the first years of the company's existence, maintaining and cultivating farm land in the Piney River area of Nelson County; during the Great Depression, some of them moved away to find work, while others kept the operation afloat; and

WHEREAS, apple orchards were a major source of income for the Saunders Brothers company during the 1940s; when the siblings discovered that peaches were a more valuable crop, they planted a 70-acre peach orchard, which for many years was the heart of the Saunders Brothers operation; and

WHEREAS, in 1947, Paul Saunders, the son of one of the five founding brothers, successfully propagated boxwood bushes; Saunders Brothers eventually planted 20 acres of boxwoods, which became another important part of the family business; and

WHEREAS, seeing an increasing demand for container-grown plants, members of the Saunders family collected discarded one-gallon metal cans from around Nelson County to use for planting; they eventually switched to plastic containers at the request of their customers; and

WHEREAS, today, the Saunders Brothers' nursery sells thousands of annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs in its wholesale operation; boxwoods grown by Saunders Brothers remain a staple of the company's business; and

WHEREAS, additionally, Saunders Brothers operates a retail market during the growing season; shoppers can choose from mouth-watering seasonal fruits and vegetables, a large variety of canned goods, and made-in-Virginia items from the market's kitchen section; and

WHEREAS, Saunders Brothers was recognized as the 2015 Agribusiness of the Year by the Virginia Agribusiness Council for its many outstanding contributions to the industry; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Saunders Brothers, Inc., on the occasion of its 100th anniversary in 2015; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Paul Saunders, a second-generation partner in Saunders Brothers, Inc., as an expression of the General Assembly's congratulations and admiration for its many years as a successful nursery, farm market, and wholesale grower in the Commonwealth.

feedback