This week, Governor Youngkin and the General Assembly had a wonderful opportunity to pay tribute to a lifetime servant leader, Senator Frank Ruff, whose pivotal role in founding the Center for Rural Virginia will be commemorated in its name. Governor Youngkin also announced Senator Ruff’s appointment as a citizen member to the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission.
In celebration of the upcoming Easter Holiday, First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin joined Governor Glenn Youngkin (and the Easter bunny) to welcome members of Massey Cancer Center and Children’s Hospital of Richmond, and their families, to the annual Easter egg hunt at the Executive Mansion.
The Governor and First Lady also recognized the Virginia Egg Council’s donation of 7,000 eggs to the Federation of Virginia Food Banks, thanking them for their generous commitment to Virginia families in need. The Virginia Egg Council also unveiled a beautiful collection of commemorative, wooden Easter eggs etched with the image of the Executive Mansion — a special gift to all participants who joined the egg hunt.
This week, Governor Youngkin was thrilled to support small business owners like Kelly Phillips, owner of K.P.’s Kake Pops, and the countless Virginians just like her in the cottage food industry. When Governor Youngkin learned in January that Kelly Phillips was facing outdated regulatory hurdles in promoting her homemade cake pops on social media, he took action and promised to fix the problem.
That’s why Governor Youngkin signed legislation into law this week that ensures small businesses like K.P.’s Kake Pops are not burdened with unnecessary regulations, representing his continued commitment to cutting through red tape and creating an environment where entrepreneurs can succeed across Virginia!
Governor Youngkin celebrated the launch of the new, state-of-the-art Goodr Mobile Grocery Store in Petersburg. Furthering the success of the Partnership for Petersburg and addressing the longstanding food accessibility issue in Petersburg, this mobile grocery store will provide Petersburg residents with free, nutritious meals.
In celebration of Women’s History Month, over 100 women from across the Commonwealth gathered in Virginia’s Executive Mansion this past week to toast to their love of womanhood and the gratification, power and grace that comes with it. Amongst these women was former Secretary of Administration, State Deputy Attorney General and Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney, Lisa Hicks-Thomas, who kindly shared her experience serving on the Virginia Women’s Monument Commission and the integral role she played in the monument’s planning and execution.
Erected in 2010 and nestled in the heart of Richmond’s Capitol Square, “Voices of the Garden” illuminates the lives and legacies of twelve Virginia women. From the widely celebrated to the previously unknown, each woman memorialized through this first-of-its-kind monument had an everlasting impact on the Commonwealth’s #homehistory.