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2016 SESSION


SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 40
Celebrating the life of Allen Ray Ritchie.
 
Agreed to by the Senate, February 11, 2016
 

WHEREAS, Allen Ray Ritchie of Harrisonburg, a well-respected and accomplished executive with the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, who was involved in community and sports organizations and a person of faith, died on August 15, 2015; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie, a native of the Shenandoah Valley, graduated from Broadway High School in 1967 and attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in 1972; and

WHEREAS, while he was a college student, Allen Ritchie began working at the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative (SVEC) in a student cooperative program and was hired full time by the electric utility in March 1972, three months before he graduated; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie was promoted to manager of administrative services at SVEC in 1983, and he became vice president of finance and administration in 1996; in that capacity, he was responsible for the utility’s financial projections and loan procurement, and he was in charge of rate cases as well as billing and collections; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie spent his entire career at SVEC, and throughout his working life, he strove to do what was in the best interests of the cooperative’s member-owners; he conducted business with fairness and integrity and set high expectations for himself and for his coworkers; and

WHEREAS, in addition to his position as vice president, Allen Ritchie served as assistant secretary-treasurer of the board of directors of the SVEC and was a member of regional committees studying electric deregulation and its effect on electric cooperatives; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie willingly shared his expertise in electricity rate design as a member of a three-state regional electric cooperative association accounting group, and he played a major role in SVEC’s acquisition of additional service territory in the Commonwealth in 2010; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie’s dedication to the electric utility and his breadth of knowledge, especially regarding financial and regulatory issues, were valued by his coworkers and by colleagues at many other electric cooperatives; and

WHEREAS, because of his many years of experience and vast knowledge of the work of rural electric cooperatives, Allen Ritchie’s advice and counsel was sought by people from throughout the industry; he was treasurer of the national Rural Electric Management Development Council; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie received a management certificate from the National Rural Electric Association, and in 2001, he was honored as the Executive of the Year by the Harrisonburg Chapter of International Association of Administrative Professionals; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie was a member of Mountain Grove Church of the Brethren, and had belonged to the Dayton Ruritan Club and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks; he coached the Bridgewater Braves baseball team for a decade, taking the team to the state tournament for three years in a row, and he coached Midget League football; and

WHEREAS, Allen Ritchie will be greatly missed and fondly remembered by his mother, Hope; daughter, Angela; granddaughter, Grace; and many other family members, friends, and colleagues; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Virginia hereby note with great sadness the loss of Allen Ray Ritchie of Harrisonburg, the highly esteemed vice president of finance and administration for the Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative, who made many contributions to his profession and his community; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Allen Ray Ritchie as an expression of the Senate of Virginia’s respect for his memory.