2025 SESSION

ENROLLED

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 880

Commending Eggleston Services.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 21, 2025

WHEREAS, Eggleston Services, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing employment, education, and supportive services for adults with disabilities in the Hampton Roads Region, celebrates its 70th anniversary in 2025; and

WHEREAS, Eggleston was founded in 1955 by a small group of parents who wanted to create meaningful activities for their children with disabilities; and

WHEREAS, Eggleston quickly moved beyond serving its participants at home and by 1965 had established a new center, initially known as the Tidewater Vocational Center (TVC), with 80 employees with disabilities using its services; and

WHEREAS, TVC continued to expand and diversify its programs throughout the 1970s and 1980s and was renamed the Louise W. Eggleston Center shortly after the organization received the bequest of a larger building from the philanthropist and TVC volunteer Louise W. Eggleston; and

WHEREAS, Paul Atkinson, Sr., became chief executive officer and president of Eggleston in the early 1990s and oversaw the organization's tremendous growth over the next 35 years; and

WHEREAS, Eggleston added specialized services programs in recent decades to enhance its ability to support its participants, including a business services division, community-based employment division, and government contracts division; and

WHEREAS, Eggleston has continually broadened its services and enhanced its ability to empower individuals with disabilities by incorporating residential services, day-support programs, seniors programs, brain injury services, veterans programs, and extensive supported employment programs over the years; and

WHEREAS, today, Eggleston has blossomed into a vibrant and dynamic organization serving more than 1,800 people with disabilities through 33 programs at 22 locations throughout the Hampton Roads area; and

WHEREAS, in recognition of its accomplishments, Eggleston has been the recipient of numerous accolades, including awards from the Virginia Association of Rehabilitation Facilities; and

WHEREAS, by improving the quality of life for individuals with disabilities through its myriad services and programs, Eggleston has helped to make the Hampton Roads Region a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Eggleston Services hereby be commended for its profound and positive impact on the Hampton Roads Region on the occasion of its 70th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Eggleston Services as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the organization's history of contributions to the Commonwealth.