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2023 SESSION

23105232D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 690
Offered February 15, 2023
Celebrating the life of Randall Wade Smith.
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Patrons-- O'Quinn; Senator: Pillion
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WHEREAS, Randall Wade Smith of Abingdon, a former educator who inspired countless students through his passion for lifelong learning, and a beloved husband and father, died on January 19, 2023; and

WHEREAS, Randall “Randy” Wade Smith grew up in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School; he spent most of his childhood summers on his grandfather’s farm in low country South Carolina, where he began to cultivate his lifelong love for the great outdoors; and

WHEREAS, Randy Smith graduated from Appalachian State University, where he served on the committee that organized live music performances on campus and attracted big-name acts like the band Mountain and The Allman Brothers Band; he was also a letterman on the soccer team and helped lead the team to the university’s first Southern Conference Championship title; and

WHEREAS, Randy Smith pursued a career in education as a social studies teacher and began teaching government, economics, and the humanities at John S. Battle High School in Bristol in 1973; he gave countless students the tools they needed to achieve success in higher education and careers and was well-known for incorporating song lyrics and poetry into his lectures; and

WHEREAS, Randy Smith established John S. Battle High School’s boys’ and girls’ cross country programs, and runners from around the region still compete on the cross country course he designed in the Randy Smith Classic each fall; and

WHEREAS, Randy Smith also taught young men and women at the former Virginia Intermont College, where he led the convocation program, established a poetry club, and organized an annual Earth Day event for students; and

WHEREAS, Randy Smith received many awards and accolades for his commitment to excellence as both a teacher and coach before his retirement from John S. Battle High School in 2004; and

WHEREAS, outside of his career, Randy Smith volunteered his time to teach classes for older adults at Pleasant View United Methodist Church and served as an on-site director for the Special Olympics for many years; and

WHEREAS, Randy Smith was a master naturalist who started the Seed Saver program at the Washington County Library and relished every opportunity to explore the Commonwealth’s state parks; he led many bird-watching programs and kept a list of every species of bird he had seen throughout his life; and

WHEREAS, Randy Smith will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife of 51 years, Mary Sue; his daughters, Ashley and Sarah, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; 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 Randall Wade Smith; 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 Randall Wade Smith as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for his memory.