Senator Webb was honored for his public service.
While recent polls suggest that many people are dissatisfied with Congress and other aspects of government, Shenandoah University’s Center for Public Service and Scholarship (CPSS) is working hard to define the best ideals of public service and to educate students to be future leaders.
The mission of the center is to “further Shenandoah University’s commitment to prepare students and the broader community to become active, informed citizen-leaders,” according the CPPs website. The Center is composed of former elected officials, military members, and State Department employees, but Dr. Karen Schultz, the Center’s director, explained that CPPS focuses on students, encouraging them to become involved in the community and consider a career of public service.
The Center celebrates its mission each year with a banquet honoring national and local officials who have demonstrated the highest ideals of public service. Honorees are nominated by the members of the Center’s Executive Committee and voted on by the members of the Center as a whole. On Sunday, October 2, the Center honored U.S. Senator Jim Webb, State Senator Mary Margaret Whipple, Trish Ridgeway, and Dianna Price. Schultz noted that “the Center typically does not honor elected officials while in office, but it made an exception for Senators Webb and Whipple who have both decided not to run for another term.”
Past honorees of the nonpartisan center have included Jan Scruggs, Founder and President of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund; former Virginia Senators Harry Byrd, Jr., “Chuck” Robb, and John Warner; former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson; and former President Gerald Ford.
Two of the Center’s honorees this year were not elected officials — a point that Schultz wants the Center to emphasize while it encourages Shenandoah University graduates to participate actively public service and community engagement.
Dianna Price served as chairman of the Loudoun County Electoral Board for 12 years, during which time the county’s population exploded. The number of polling places Price over saw doubled, and the number of election officers increased nearly five-fold. Price led a major fundraising effort to pay for additional voting equipment and train additional officials.
Trish Ridgeway led the growth and modernization of the library systems in Winchester, Frederick and Clarke Counties. Ridgeway has served as the Handley Library system regional director since 1993, during which time in the library’s endowment has increased by 440% to accommodate the 134% increase in library use and the attendant technology upgrades. Ridgeway believes the public library is the “people’s university,” and she often speaks about the library’s services in public forums.
Mary Margaret Whipple was first elected to the Virginia Senate in 1995. She is a member of 6 state Senate committees: Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources, Education and Health, Finance, Privileges, and Elections and Rules. She is the Chair of the Rules Committee and Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus. Before her election to the state senate, Whipple served on the Arlington County School Board.
Jim Webb will be completing his term as the senior senator from Virginia in 2012. He is a Marine combat veteran and an attorney who served as a senior defense department official. The multi-talented Webb is also a film maker and an award-winning journalist who has written nine books, including Born Fighting, which reflects his Scot-Irish tradition. During his Senate term, Webb has authored several important pieces of legislation, including what he calls “the new GI bill.” Webb is a strong advocate for America’s national security interests, social justice, prison reform, and government accountability. He’s also a strong proponent of economic fairness. Webb has remained active in military, economic, and foreign affairs through his membership on the Armed Services, Foreign Relations, Joint Economic and Veterans Affairs committees. He serves as chairman for the subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs and does pro bono work for the Vietnamese community.
This year’s honorees exemplify the wide variety of forms public service can take. Together they embody George Washington’s assertion that “the consciousness of having discharged that duty which we owe to our country is superior to all other considerations.” And as Confucius says, “He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.”
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