Bill Text: VA SJR8 | 2016 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Joseph L. Ritchey.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-01-29 - Bill text as passed Senate and House (SJ8ER) [SJR8 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2016-SJR8-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Joseph L. Ritchey, a principal in Prospective, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage firm in Reston, was honored for his company's selection as a BCA 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America for 2015; and WHEREAS, Joseph "Joe" Ritchey's one-man firm, Prospective, Inc., has worked on large-scale mixed-use developments in Fairfax County for more than three decades; the company has played a major role in the development of Reston, especially the internationally recognized mixed-use Reston Town Center; and WHEREAS, Joe Ritchey's career-long conviction that a thriving arts scene is vital to a company's success and a community's development helped transform Reston Town Center into a vibrant public space with outdoor concerts and public art; and WHEREAS, BCA, the Business Committee for the Arts, is a division of Americans for the Arts; each year the organization honors 10 companies for their exceptional commitment to the arts through grants, partnerships, volunteer programs, gifts, sponsorships, and board involvement; and WHEREAS, Joe Ritchey has generously donated more than $1.1 million to arts-related organizations; he and his company have helped to raise more than $100,000 annually for the Arts Council of Fairfax County, where he has been chair of the board of directors; and WHEREAS, in 2007, Joe Ritchey founded the Initiative for Public Art - Reston, which led to the creation of a Public Art Master Plan for Reston; the community was the first unincorporated jurisdiction to complete such a plan; and WHEREAS, Joe Ritchey believes in the power of art to enrich communities and the people and businesses who choose to settle there; he has seen how attractive and pedestrian-friendly public spaces—and the art found therein—provide a powerful economic return; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Joseph L. Ritchey, a principal in Prospective, Inc., a commercial real estate brokerage firm in Reston, for his firm's selection as a BCA 10: Best Businesses Partnering with the Arts in America for 2015; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Joseph L. Ritchey as an expression of the General Assembly's congratulations and admiration for his commitment to public art and the value it brings to the people and businesses of Reston, Fairfax County, and the Commonwealth. |