SEARCH SITE

VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL

SEARCHABLE DATABASES

ACROSS SESSIONS

Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.

2016 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 431
Celebrating the life of David V. Burds.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 8, 2016
Agreed to by the Senate, March 10, 2016

 

WHEREAS, David V. Burds of Arlington, an advocate for people with severe disabilities who inspired and supported others as they worked to achieve independent living, died on January 30, 2016, in his own home; and

WHEREAS, David “Dave” V. Burds was born July 13, 1944, in Dubuque, Iowa; he graduated from high school in Farley, Iowa, and received a degree from Loras College; and

WHEREAS, after five years as a teacher and counselor, Dave Burds relocated with his family to the Commonwealth in 1975; he owned and operated a home building and repair company in McLean until 1977, when he sustained a spinal cord injury from a fall while roofing; and

WHEREAS, determined to not be defined by his injury, Dave Burds attended graduate school at George Mason University and received a master’s degree in counseling; and

WHEREAS, in 1982, Dave Burds attended the grand opening of the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia (ECNV) as a volunteer member of ECNV’s original staff and a peer counselor; ECNV is a consumer-controlled Center for Independent Living (CIL)—the second CIL founded in Virginia—and is operated by persons with disabilities to provide independent living services to persons with disabilities throughout Northern Virginia; and

WHEREAS, at ECNV, Dave Burds facilitated a support group for people with spinal cord injuries and for people interested in acquiring personal assistance services management skills; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds was receiving Social Security Disability Insurance and Medicare support until he obtained employment in the private sector at Satellite Business Systems, where he continued working until the company was purchased by IBM; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds then served as a service manager at IBM from 1986 to 1994, working from his three-wheeled motorized scooter in a competitive employment environment and regularly demonstrating how to live independently; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds became an active member and avid supporter of the Spinal Cord Injury Network of Metropolitan Washington and later served as a board member, treasurer, and president; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds, along with other disability community leaders, advocated passionately on behalf of people with disabilities; he was present at the White House ceremony where President George H.W. Bush signed into law the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds was rehired by ECNV as the Personal Assistance Services Coordinator in January 1995; he developed a model personal assistance services registry and referral service, which included training and orientation components highlighting the skills needed to become an effective personal assistant in a consumer-directed environment, in which the person with a disability is an employer of the personal assistant, not a patient; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds proudly worked alongside other disability advocates from throughout Virginia and around the nation through the Americans With Disabilities for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT); and

WHEREAS, throughout the late 1990s, as a result of Dave Burds’ initiative and with the support of ECNV and the statewide Virginia Association of Centers for Independent Living (VACIL), Virginians with disabilities and their legislative allies were successful in securing the first Virginia Medicaid waiver option allowing persons with disabilities the option of recruiting, hiring, training, and managing their own attendants; and

WHEREAS, this effort led to the formal establishment of Virginia’s Consumer-Directed Medicaid Waiver program, which has evolved into the Elderly or Disabled with Consumer Direction (EDCD) Waiver; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds’ passion for independent living extended to his own exercise regimen; he would frequently hand-pedal a three-wheeled bicycle on the 35-mile long Washington & Old Dominion trail between Arlington and Leesburg, as well as participating six times in an annual endurance bicycle ride across Iowa; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds continued to advocate with ECNV and VACIL to empower persons to live independently, including joining fellow independent living advocates for many years at the Virginia General Assembly, which ultimately resulted in the adoption of legislation authorizing what is now the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority and the Virginia Assistive Technology Device Warranty Act (Virginia’s “lemon law” for persons with disabilities who use assistive technologies) and the creation of the Independence Empowerment Center, which serves individuals with disabilities living in Prince William and Fauquier Counties; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds was also instrumental in the creation of the Loudoun ENDependence satellite CIL program, which serves individuals with disabilities living in Loudoun County, and what is now the Virginia Livable Home Tax Credit program, which provides state tax credits for the purchase of new units or the retrofitting of existing housing units and allows all Virginians to have the option of aging-in-place; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds continued working at ECNV as director of administration until he was named executive director in 2007, a position he held until his retirement in 2012; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds served as Region III Representative on the National Council on Independent Living Board of Directors; he was also a graduate of Leadership Arlington and served on the Board of Directors of the Warren G. Stambaugh Foundation, where he continued to work on efforts that advanced improvements in the lives of persons with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Dave Burds will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Margaret; children, Chris Pauly, Ann McGavin, Sara Megonigal, and Eric Burds, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues; 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 David V. Burds, a devoted advocate for people living with disabilities; 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 David V. Burds as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.