On Monday, Sept. 24, Delegate Chris Hurst presented two resolutions at the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Meeting that were recently passed by the General Assembly.
The first was presented to the family of Lindsay Butte West in celebration of her life and of her service and contributions to our local community, our local government, and the Commonwealth of Virginia. Prior to her death in Feb. 2018, Mrs. West was a community leader in Montgomery County with passion for civil rights and environmental issues for nearly 60 years. In 1976, she was elected as the first female member of the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors. During her 12-year tenure, she served as both chair and vice chair on the Board. In addition, she was a leader on the Montgomery County Social Services Board, the New River Community Action Board, and the Montgomery County Public Service Authority.
At the state level, Mrs. West served on the Local Government Advisory Council and the Local Government Advisory Committee of the Governor's Commission of Transportation. In addition, West served her community by working with the Community Foundation of the New River Valley and helped oversee the renovation of the Lyric Theatre in Blacksburg, Va., while serving as chair of the Lyric Council. She also served as chair for the Democratic Committee in Montgomery County, as well as on the Virginia State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services for both Governor Mark Warner and Governor Timothy Kaine. In 2011, she received the Nannie B. Hairston Community Service Award for her lifetime of service from the Montgomery County-Radford City-Floyd County Branch of the NAACP. The patrons of this resolution for Mrs. West, House Joint Resolution (No. 292), are Delegate Chris Hurst (chief patron) and Senators John Edwards and Creigh Deeds.
Hurst also recognized Annette S. Perkins, commending her on her career as a lifelong educator and civic leader in Montgomery County. Mrs. Perkins served on the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors for 20 years, holding the roles of chair in 2008, 2009, and 2010, and vice chair in 2003 and 2004. Before retiring as a teacher and principal for Montgomery County Public Schools, Mrs. Perkins was very active in her community. In fact, current Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Chair, Chris Tuck, once estimated that Mrs. Perkins spent roughly 400,000 (or about 278 days) in meetings during her 20 years of service on the Board of Supervisors.
In addition to the Board of Supervisors, she also served on the Montgomery County Regional Economic Development Commission, the Fairview District Home Board, the New River Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization, the Pepper's Ferry Regional Waste Water Treatment Authority, the New River Valley Regional Commission, the Public Service Authority, the Road Viewers Board, the Social Services Board, the Utilities Committee, the Finance Committee, and the Virginia Tech/Montgomery Regional Airport Authority. She actively participated in the Virginia Association of Counties, serving on several committees to include the Conference Planning Committee, the Resolutions Committee, the Transportation Steering Committee, and the Education Steering Committee, as well as represented Region 10 on the Board of Directors.
Mrs. Perkins has been an instrumental leader in Montgomery County for over 20 years. Mrs. Perkins also played a key role in the donation of 9.25-acres of land, known as "The Meadow," to the Town of Blacksburg for recreational use, which was dedicated to her in September 2017. The patrons of this resolution for Mrs. Perkins, House Joint Resolution (No. 154), are Delegates Chris Hurst (chief patron); Gregory Habeeb; Nick Rush; and Robert Thomas, Jr., as well as Senator John Edwards.