WHEREAS, Letitia Reneé Rose Batey, a dedicated volunteer and respected member of the Norfolk community, died on September 1, 2013; and

WHEREAS, a native of Roanoke, Reneé Batey obtained her bachelor's degree and graduated magna cum laude from Morgan State College in 1976 before moving to Hampton Roads; and

WHEREAS, in 1978, Reneé Batey began a 17-year career working for Virginia National Bank (now Bank of America), where she served as a branch manager, a member of the information and technology division, and the community investment coordinator for Hampton Roads; and

WHEREAS, pursuing her love of art and design, Reneé Batey and her husband, Marion, started their own painting and interior decorating company, Batey Enterprises II, Inc., in 1995; and

WHEREAS, in 2005, Reneé Batey returned to the financial industry at the encouragement of Ernie Wilson, friend and the president of the Norfolk Chesapeake Portsmouth Community Development Federal Credit Union; as the manager of operations, she helped run the successful community-based financial organization until 2012; and

WHEREAS, touching the lives of so many through her love of community service, Reneé Batey served as board member of the Norfolk Arts Commission, the Crispus Attucks Cultural Center, and the Norfolk Economic Development Authority; treasurer of the Huntersville Recreation Center; and president of the Young Women's Christian Association of South Hampton Roads; and

WHEREAS, a woman whose strong faith guided her from a young age, Reneé Batey was a member of St. Luke African Methodist Episcopal Church, where she was a steward, a church clerk, and a member of the finance and scholarship committees; and

WHEREAS, Reneé Batey will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her loving husband of 33 years, Marion, and many other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of a dedicated volunteer and respected member of the Norfolk community, Letitia Reneé Rose Batey; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Letitia Reneé Rose Batey as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for her memory.