This Week In The Commonwealth

This week, Governor Glenn Youngkin’s team won the 16th Annual VCU Massey Cancer Capitol Square Basketball Classic against the Lobbyists. The VCU Massey Comprehensive Cancer Center is one of two NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in Virginia – leading and shaping America’s cancer research efforts – with the community at its core. This year, the charity basketball game collectively raised over $100,000 to support cancer treatment and research.

Governor Youngkin had the honor of taking part in this year’s Virginia State Police Academy graduation of the 140th Basic Session class and congratulating the 52 new VSP Troopers. They have made the decision to dedicate their lives to service over self. There is no higher calling.

First Lady of Virginia Suzanne S. Youngkin continues raising awareness about the dangers of fentanyl. Earlier this week, the First Lady returned to Roanoke City as part of the “It Only Takes One” fentanyl awareness campaign that she helped launch in January.  The First Lady met with the Roanoke City Schools Superintendent and participated in a parent education forum with Secretary of Health and Human Resources John Littel, athletic coaches and directors, PTA members, and other key community members to continue addressing the threat fentanyl poses to students and families in the Roanoke area.  The First Lady also attended a Rapid REVIVE! Naloxone training session alongside members of the Virginia General Assembly.  The purpose of the training was to better equip legislative leaders on how to recognize and respond to opioid overdose emergencies.

This Women’s History Month, the Executive Mansion will highlight the amazing women represented in the Art Experience’s second installation “Do What You Love in Virginia,” one of whom holds a very special place in the heart of the first family as mother and grandmother. Born in 1939, Dr. Ellis Quinn Youngkin was a mother, educator, author, volunteer, administrator, and artist, spending the majority of her career as a Women’s Health Nurse Practitioner. Painted long before the Governor was elected, Dr. Youngkin captured the fountain on the western side of Capitol Square in her painting “A Capitol Day.” Now hanging in the Front Hall at Virginia’s Executive Mansion, the painting serves as a reminder of Dr. Youngkin’s legacy and the indeterminable nature of God’s will.