WHEREAS, for five years, the Electric Cooperatives Training Center in Palmyra, created by the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives, has provided education to utilities workers from throughout the region; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives was incorporated in Virginia in 1944, to be the common service organization and advocate for electric cooperatives and rural ratepayers; and

WHEREAS, a core component of the mission of the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives has always been education and training, consistent with the Fifth Cooperative Principle, one of the guiding beliefs and values that drive the operation of cooperatives worldwide; and

WHEREAS, safety has always been the foremost concern for any electric cooperative, and the training and education of line workers has been at the forefront of the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives' decades-long educational efforts, including continuing education, on-the-job training, and apprenticeships; and

WHEREAS, in 2016, the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives decided to make a singular investment into the education and training of line workers in the Commonwealth and throughout the region; and

WHEREAS, with the support of its member cooperatives, the leadership of its board of directors, and land leased from Central Virginia Electric Cooperative, the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives erected the region's first and only training center for electric utility line workers in Palmyra; and

WHEREAS, the Virginia, Maryland and Delaware Association of Electric Cooperatives ultimately built a permanent edifice on the site in 2019 and dedicated it as the Electric Cooperatives Training Center; and

WHEREAS, the Electric Cooperatives Training Center is a beacon of instruction, coaching, and preparation for the line workers employed by utilities from throughout the mid-Atlantic region; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That the Electric Cooperatives Training Center in Palmyra hereby be commended on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of its establishment; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Electric Cooperatives Training Center in Palmyra as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the hard work and achievements of line workers throughout the Commonwealth and the mid-Atlantic region and best wishes for long and safe careers.