SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2002 SESSION

020112612
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 179
Offered January 9, 2002
Prefiled January 9, 2002
On the death of William D. Hobson.
----------
Patron—Armstrong and Dudley
----------

WHEREAS, William D. Hobson, a former mayor of Martinsville and the first African American to serve on the Martinsville City Council, died on April 14, 2001; and

WHEREAS, a native of Martinsville, William Hobson graduated from Piedmont Christian Institute and attended Knoxville College in Tennessee, where he played football and majored in biology; and

WHEREAS, William Hobson returned to Martinsville in the early 1930s, then served as a member of the United States Army Air Corps in the Pacific Theatre of Operations during World War II; and

WHEREAS, a successful local businessman, William Hobson first ran for city council in 1950, and by 1968, following years of diligent voter registration efforts by the Martinsville-Henry County Voters League, he finished first among five candidates for the council; and

WHEREAS, William Hobson served on the Martinsville City Council from 1968 until his retirement in 1980, including two terms as mayor of the city from 1976 until 1980; and

WHEREAS, widely known and highly respected for his fairness and consideration of opposing views, William Hobson consistently championed programs that benefited low-income families and senior citizens; and

WHEREAS, during William Hobson's tenure as mayor, Martinsville's uptown area was revitalized, a program to nearly double its water treatment capacity was initiated, and planning began on a hydro-electric project; and

WHEREAS, William Hobson was instrumental in Martinsville's achieving the All-American City designation in 1970; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of his many years of invaluable service to the industrial, economic, and civic development of Martinsville, William Hobson was honored with the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce Humanitarian Award in May 1999; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly note with sadness the passing of an exceptional citizen of Martinsville, William D. Hobson; 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 William D. Hobson as an expression of the high regard in which his memory is held by the members of the General Assembly.