Bill Text: VA HJR847 | 2017 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Madison Montgomery Shinaberry.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-02-10 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ847ER) [HJR847 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2017-HJR847-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Madison Montgomery Shinaberry of Rockingham, a gifted ballerina, passionate advocate for organ donation awareness, and aspiring public servant, died on December 16, 2016; and
WHEREAS, Madison "Maddie" Montgomery Shinaberry, daughter of Curtis and Ellen Shinaberry, was born in Harrisonburg on February 28, 1995; and
WHEREAS, when she was in the seventh grade, Maddie Shinaberry was diagnosed with primary pulmonary hypertension, a rare disease, and, in October 2008, was told she needed a double-lung transplant to live; and
WHEREAS, in January 2009, when she was a high school freshman, Maddie Shinaberry received a double-lung transplant at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and spent a month there recovering, and, when she had regained her strength, she returned to dancing, which is what she loved most; and
WHEREAS, from an early age, Maddie Shinaberry was a gifted ballerina and a member of the Rockingham Ballet Theatre in Bridgewater; she was invited to train with the American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Young Dancer's program in New York City at age 11, and, after undergoing the double-lung transplant, was one of 20 dancers selected to attend ABT's summer intensive program in Bermuda; and
WHEREAS, Maddie Shinaberry attended Massanutten Regional Governor's School and graduated with honors from Turner Ashby High School in 2012; she attended Washington and Lee University in Lexington, where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority and Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society; and
WHEREAS, Maddie Shinaberry studied politics in college and spent a semester studying abroad at the International Institute of Business in Copenhagen, Denmark, and was an intern on Capitol Hill for Congressman John A. Boehner of Ohio, who was Speaker of the United States House of Representatives at the time; and
WHEREAS, Maddie Shinaberry became a passionate lobbyist for organ donation awareness, and she successfully led a charge to make the Virginia Board of Education include organ donation education in the ninth grade physical education curriculum; and
WHEREAS, Maddie Shinaberry continued to promote organ donation awareness from her platform as Miss Southwestern Virginia, a crown she won in 2014, although health challenges prevented her from participating in the Miss Virginia contest; and
WHEREAS, Maddie Shinaberry had aspirations of going to law school and becoming the first woman Governor of the Commonwealth; in her 21 years, she touched the lives of many organ donation advocates and legislators, who are carrying on her legacy and torch today; and
WHEREAS, Maddie Shinaberry will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her parents, Curtis and Ellen; a sister, Elizabeth; and a host of other family members and treasured friends whom she inspired in so many ways; 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 Madison Montgomery Shinaberry, a gifted ballerina, passionate advocate for organ donation, and aspiring public servant; 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 Madison Montgomery Shinaberry as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for her memory.
