Bill Text: VA SJR199 | 2022 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Vanessa Reese Crawford.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-03-10 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ199ER) [SJR199 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2022-SJR199-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Vanessa Reese Crawford, an esteemed law-enforcement officer and Sheriff of the City of Petersburg, will be presented the Ferris E. Lucas Sheriff of the Year Award at the Annual Conference of the National Sheriffs' Association in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 28, 2022; and
WHEREAS, the National Sheriffs' Association recognized Vanessa Crawford with the National Sheriff of the Year award for her efforts to elevate the Office of Sheriff on the local, state, and national level and for her extraordinary involvement in the community; and
WHEREAS, Vanessa Crawford was sworn in as Sheriff for the City of Petersburg on December 15, 2005, becoming the first female to hold the position in the city's history; she has since been reelected to her post in 2009, 2013, 2017, and 2021, making her the longest actively serving elected official with the City of Petersburg; and
WHEREAS, Vanessa Crawford's accomplishments as a trailblazer include being the first woman to run an all-male facility in the Virginia Department of Corrections, where she retired with more than 28 years of service, as well as being the only African American female sheriff in the United States from 2014 to 2017 and the only sheriff in the Commonwealth to attain certification by the U.S. Department of Justice as a Prison Rape Elimination Act auditor; and
WHEREAS, born and raised in Petersburg, Vanessa Crawford has given generously of her time to her hometown in various leadership capacities, including as a trustee at Good Shepherd Baptist Church, as a member and vice chair of the Petersburg School Board, and as a president of the Petersburg High School Boosters Club and the Petersburg Kiwanis Luncheon Club; and
WHEREAS, Vanessa Crawford provided invaluable leadership on several law-enforcement boards and commissions, including the Virginia Correctional Association, which she served as president from 2016 to 2018; and
WHEREAS, with the overwhelming support of her peers, Vanessa Crawford was unanimously elected by all sheriffs in the Commonwealth to serve as president of the Virginia Sheriffs' Association from 2017 to 2018; and
WHEREAS, Vanessa Crawford has previously been the recipient of myriad honors and accolades in recognition of her impact on the community, including the Nathaniel Gatlin Award from the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce in 2020 and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Correctional Association in 2016; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Vanessa Reese Crawford, sheriff of the City of Petersburg, for receiving the 2022 Ferris E. Lucas Sheriff of the Year Award from the National Sheriffs' Association; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Vanessa Reese Crawford as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for her achievements in service to the Commonwealth.
