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2017 SESSION


SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 249
Celebrating the life of the Honorable John C. Miller.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, January 19, 2017
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, January 27, 2017
 

WHEREAS, the Honorable John C. Miller, a respected journalist, tireless advocate for education, and longtime public servant who ably represented the residents of the 1st District in the Senate of Virginia for three terms, died on April 4, 2016; and

WHEREAS, a native of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, John Miller earned a bachelor’s degree from Northern Illinois University, then relocated to Hampton Roads and began an 18-year career in journalism with WVEC-13, where he worked as a reporter, anchor, and news director and earned national accolades for his weekly documentary program; and

WHEREAS, after serving as a top aide to a United States Senator in the 1980s, John Miller returned to journalism as an anchor of Good Morning Hampton Roads on WVEC-13 and held administrative positions with public broadcasting station WHRO and Christopher Newport University; and

WHEREAS, desirous to be of further service to the Commonwealth, John Miller ran for and was elected to the Senate of Virginia in 2007; he represented the residents of part of Newport News, Hampton, Suffolk, York County, and James City County and all of Williamsburg in the 1st District; and

WHEREAS, John Miller introduced and supported many important pieces of legislation related to nonpartisan redistricting, voting rights for older Virginians, support for veterans, and protection of the valuable natural resources of the Chesapeake Bay; and

WHEREAS, John Miller was passionate about improving public education in the Commonwealth and worked to ensure that each child in Virginia received the best possible education; he helped decrease the number of Standards of Learning tests in public elementary schools and redesigned high school education to better prepare students for higher education and careers; and

WHEREAS, John Miller offered his wisdom and expertise as a member of the Committees on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, Local Government, and Privileges and Elections; he worked to build bipartisan consensus on key issues as a founder of the Commonwealth Caucus, which included two Democrats and two Republicans; and

WHEREAS, John Miller held leadership positions in Smart Beginnings of the Virginia Peninsula, People to People, Peninsula READS, the Food Bank of Virginia Peninsula and many other civic and service organizations; he earned numerous awards and accolades for his devoted work to enhance the lives of his fellow community members; and

WHEREAS, respected for his kindness and compassion, John Miller was a man of great integrity who served the residents of Hampton Roads and the Commonwealth with the utmost dedication and distinction; and

WHEREAS, John Miller will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife, Sharron; children, Jenny and John, and grandson, Isaac, and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and colleagues on both sides of the aisle; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of the Honorable John C. Miller, a respected journalist and public servant who dedicated his life to bettering the lives of all Virginians; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of the Honorable John C. Miller as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.