Following feedback from the public at its Feb. 19 meeting, Lexington City Council passed a resolution in support of Virginia Military Institute during its most recent meeting on Thursday. The resolution did not address the bills that were presented to the General Assembly earlier this year.
Chuck Smith made the motion to approve the resolution, saying that he was “glad to see this get over the finish line.” Leslie Straughan provided the second and the motion carried 5-0. David Sigler recused himself from the discussion and vote on the resolution, citing his employment by the institute as the reason for doing so.
In the resolution, City Council said that it “is proud that Lexington is the home of VMI,” and that the “VMI Corps of Cadets, faculty and staff are integral members of the Lexington community, contributing daily to the civic, cultural, educational and economic vitality of the city.”
Council noted that the Institute is “one of the largest employers” for both the city and Rockbridge County and that the Corps of Cadets and Institute personnel “collectively contribute thousands of volunteer hours annually to the city and the surrounding region” in a variety of ways, including community service projects and educational outreach.
The “longstanding partnership” between the city and the school, the resolution noted, is “rooted in mutual respect; a shared and textured history; and a common commitment to excellence, public service and collaborative problem-solving.”
For all of those reasons, the city, through the resolution, expressed support for VMI and reaffirmed its support of “the critical role that VMI plays in our region’s identity, community well-being and economic vitality,” as well as support for “the mission, resources, and longterm stability” of the Institute and affirmation of City Council’s “commitment to continued collaboration with VMI.”
“Our continued support for VMI is not only an investment in this institution,” the resolution read, “but in the economic resilience, workforce strength, and community vitality of Lexington, Rockbridge County, and the Commonwealth of Virginia.”
