VCC Magazine Fall 2019

Ginny Edwards: A lifetime of legislative service

By Will Egen

Why invest in CTE? from page 21 During January and February up on the eleventh floor of the Pocahontas Building, currently occupied by the General Assembly, you’ll find quiet serenity at the Legislative Reference Center, in sharp contrast to the debates taking place on the ground floor in the committee rooms. The Reference Center is the library for staff and the general public, and it is full of rows of annotated code books, House and Senate journals dating back hundreds of years, and legal treatises. Tucked in the the Senate and House Rules committees where important procedural resolutions as well as contentious bills tend to crop up. She is the FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) officer for DLS, and will often hear from citizens who need to be directed to the correct agency or need an old Act of Assembly. Ginny is also Director of theVirginiaWorldWar I andWorld War II Commemoration Commission, which works with the Library of Virginia to create an online collection of original World War I and World War II records that are currently privately owned. Ginny’s journey to legislative service began in 1985 when she enrolled in law school at the University of Richmond. As she entered law school she was motivated by the “thinking part” of being a lawyer, where she could do research and analysis. Ginny sensed early during her law school career that the adversarial aspects of the legal world did not suit her. So as law school continued she kept her ears open for opportunities that fit her strengths. back behind the money colored green cubicles, from the days when Virginia Lottery occupied the floor, you’ll find the office of Ginny A. Edwards, Director of the Reference Center at the Division of Legislative Services (DLS). Ginny’s title on her door belies the breadth of her role. She staffs During school she also spent a good amount of time at the library, where she met her future husband, Tim. They met in her final year of law school at the circulation department of the law library where Tim worked. She was a student assistant at the library. In addition to her personal life, Ginny’s assistant job at the library also opened up her professional life. At a Christmas party after law school, Sally Wambold, who worked at the law library, and her husband Alan, who staffed the transportation committees at DLS, edwards • Let’s talk funding. While the support of the General Assembly in years past, have provided funding for CTE, over the past 3 years funding for equipment, credentialing, and STEM Academies have been leveled funding, along with, funding for the CTE Resource Center. • CTE classrooms and labs are utilized every day and updates in equipment and instructional resources are needed. Credentialing funding should be increased to bridge the funding gap of what local school divisions must spend to address the credentialing funding shortfall. • The CTE Resource Center is in dire need of technological updates for the industry-based instructional resources and database. The website receives over 2 million page views each year and teachers,

told Ginny about his job at the legislature and gave her a preview of what the work entailed. Ginny thought working with legislation, “seemed cutting edge, because you see the law in the front-end and not the back-end,” she said. A job at DLS felt like the perfect fit. A position just needed to open up. Fortunately, soon after law school ended, an advertisement for a staff attorney job at DLS was posted. Ginny applied and knew from Alan and Sally what to expect. She was hired and joined DLS in January 1990 as a staff attorney for Senate Rules. She would also staff House Rules and Joint Rules. During the off-season when the General Assembly is not in session, attorneys at DLS take on other long-term projects. One such project that Ginny would describe as the pinnacle of her first stint at DLS was working on the revision of Title 1 of the Code of Virginia starting in 2003. Title 1 contains the statutory rules of construction that apply to the Code of Virginia and the uncodified acts of the General Assembly. During this consuming two-year project she worked to

incorporate Title 7.1, Boundaries, Jurisdiction and Emblems of the Commonwealth, into Title 1. After 16 years at DLS, and after finishing her work on a successful codification project, it came time for a new challenge. Ginny joined the Senate Clerk’s Office Staff in December 2005 in the role of Counsel and Assistant Journal Clerk. She continued to provide legal counsel to senators, as she did at DLS, but this new role also allowed her to explore fresh paths. A big change in the legislature, of which Ginny was a part, was the development of the e-filing system for filing legislation. One of Ginny’s primary responsibilities during this change was to process the e-filed legislation by numbering, reviewing, and categorizing them based on filing status, and presenting them to the Clerk. Another role she took on in the Senate Clerk’s Office was to explore the history of

Senate. Ginny served as editor of two publications that were awarded the NCSL Notable Documents Award, “Point of Personal Privilege” in 2014 and “Officers of the Senate of Virginia 1776 – 2016” in 2016. Her ability to work on complex issues is noted by Susan Clarke Schaar, Clerk of the Senate: “Ginny is the ultimate professional, always able to look at both sides of an issue. She is always thorough in her research. Her quiet nature hides a deep strength and determination.” Ginny’s move from DLS to the Senate also gives her a unique claim. “One thing that is an anomaly with me is that I am probably students, administrators, and parents enjoy free access to the CTE curriculum. • With emphasis on work-based learning, coordinators are needed to work with school divisions and build relationships with business and develop authentic work-based learning opportunities for Virginia learners. Let’s share the success stories about our students with the policymakers and invite them to visit our classrooms or CTE activities to gain first-hand knowledge of the academic and technical skills our students are acquiring. Let’s showcase the support of our business partners and demonstrate the need to Invest in CTE! Dr. Brenda D. Long, Executive Director, Virginia Association for Career and Technical Education. V See Ginny Edwards , continued on page 25

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