Bill Text: VA HJR640 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Commending Lawrence Distributing Company, Inc.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2025-02-19 - Agreed to by Senate by voice vote [HJR640 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2025-HJR640-Introduced.html
2025 SESSION
INTRODUCED
25104768D
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 640
Offered February 11, 2025
Commending Lawrence Distributing Company, Inc.
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Patrons—Phillips and Marshall; Senator: Mulchi
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WHEREAS, Lawrence Distributing Company, Inc., a family-owned and family-operated wholesale beer, wine, and soft drink distributor in Southside Virginia, has been an important part of the local business community for 70 years; and
WHEREAS, Lawrence Distributing Company was founded in February 1954 by Billy B. Lawrence when he purchased Green Distributing Company and changed its name; and
WHEREAS, Lawrence Distributing Company began as a one-man, one-truck wholesale beer distributorship that sold and delivered beer to local restaurants, convenience stores, and supermarkets from its small, rented warehouse in Chatham; and
WHEREAS, as Lawrence Distributing Company grew over the years, Billy Lawrence opened a larger facility in Danville, added wine sales in 1962, built a new office and warehouse in 1972, then added soft drinks, water, and additional beer and wine lines in the 1980s and 1990s; and
WHEREAS, a highly admired business and civic leader, Billy Lawrence was honored in 2003 with the National Beer Wholesalers Association Life Service Award and with the Enduring Enterprise Award from the Danville Pittsylvania County Chamber of Commerce; and
WHEREAS, after many decades of outstanding leadership by Billy Lawrence and his wife Dovie “Shirley” Lawrence, the couple turned over the management of the company to other family members; and
WHEREAS, Lawrence Distributing Company has remained a family affair over the years, with the active involvement of Billy Lawrence's daughter and son-in-law Linda Lawrence and Barry Dalton, his grandson and granddaughter-in-law, Will and Casey Dalton, and his granddaughter, Amanda Dalton; and
WHEREAS as of 2025, Lawrence Distributing Company employs 80 staff members and operates from its main facility in Danville and a satellite facility in South Hill, with a service area covering the counties of Brunswick, Charlotte, Franklin, Greensville, Halifax, Henry, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Patrick, and Pittsylvania, as well as cities in that area; and
WHEREAS, Lawrence Distributing Company prides itself on hiring quality people, providing quality products, and delivering quality service, a winning formula that has earned the company numerous quality assurance awards from what is now Molson Coors, including the prestigious President's Award in 2010 and the Bill Coors Quality Award in 2015; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Lawrence Distributing Company, Inc., 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 Lawrence Distributing Company, Inc., as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the organization's legacy of success as a family-owned business.
