Bill Text: VA HJR305 | 2020 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending James Ellis Hall.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-03-04 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ305ER) [HJR305 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-HJR305-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, James Ellis Hall, a respected businessman, honorable veteran, and beloved member of the Gloucester community, celebrated his 101st birthday in 2019; and
WHEREAS, born in Ordinary, James Hall has spent nearly his entire life in Gloucester County, graduating from Achilles High School in 1937 and working at the Union Life Insurance Company until he was drafted into the United States Army on February 6, 1943; and
WHEREAS, serving in the 930th Engineer Aviation Regiment, James Hall completed tours of duty in North Africa, India, and Myanmar, where he built roads and airstrips for the military; he reached the rank of first sergeant by the time he was honorably discharged on November 29, 1945, shortly after the end of World War II; and
WHEREAS, James Hall partnered with William F. Broaddus of the General Electric appliance retailer Broaddus Bros., in 1948, which changed its name to Broaddus and Hall, Inc., in 1956 in a nod to James Hall's contributions to its success; and
WHEREAS, James Hall proved instrumental in growing Broaddus and Hall into the largest General Electric retailer in Gloucester, Mathews, and Middlesex Counties and managed the store until he sold it in 2006; in recognition of a career spanning more than a half-century, he was recognized the same year as the Business Person of the Year by the Gloucester County Chamber of Commerce; and
WHEREAS, in addition to his retail business, James Hall was a successful real estate investor, pursing interests in commercial and residential real estate while developing the Edgehill Shopping Center in Gloucester County alongside his partner, William F. Broaddus; and
WHEREAS, guided throughout life by his deep and abiding faith, James Hall has been a member of Newington Baptist Church for over 72 years, where he has held several leadership positions and enjoyed worship and fellowship with his community; and
WHEREAS, James Hall sang in the Newington Baptist Church choir for 70 years, served as a deacon, church trustee, and finance committee chair for many years, and taught Sunday school until the age of 100; and
WHEREAS, James Hall represented the Mid-Tidewater Baptist Association (MTBA) as a member of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board from 2000 to 2006, receiving a Servant Leadership Award from the MTBA in 2016 in honor of his years of service; and
WHEREAS, passionate about sharing his faith with others, James Hall was a member of Gideons International for more than 43 years and an organizing member of the Gloucester Gideons Camp in 1975; and
WHEREAS, James Hall was active with the prison ministry at the Gloucester County Jail through the Southeastern Correctional Ministry, receiving hundreds of letters over the years from inmates he had positively impacted through his Bible studies; and
WHEREAS, active and engaged in the community that raised him, James Hall was a charter member of the Gloucester Rotary Club, which he served for 57 years, including a term as the club's president; and
WHEREAS, over the past century, James Hall has touched countless lives in the Gloucester community as a businessman, spiritual mentor, and friend; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend James Ellis Hall on the occasion of his 101st birthday; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to James Ellis Hall as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for his illustrious life and appreciation for his many contributions to the Commonwealth.
