Legislation recently signed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin will increase the number of all-virtual meetings that can be held by public advisory bodies, and the governor is encouraging more Southwest Virginia residents to step forward to serve on those boards.
A main purpose of the change is to increase participation of state residents who live some distance from Richmond.
“For those of you that don’t know this, I appoint a lot of people to a lot of boards and commissions, and it’s one of the great privileges of being the governor,” Youngkin said during a March 20 listening tour stop at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon.
How to serve
For more information on serving on a state board or commission, visit the governor’s website, www.governor.virginia.gov/, or the secretary of the commonwealth website, www.commonwealth.virginia.gov/va-government/boards-and-commissions.
“I constantly am asking folks how we increase Southwest Virginia’s representation on boards and commissions. And it’s a real challenge, because oftentimes they need to meet in Richmond and it’s a long way. I totally understand.”
Most of the boards meet quarterly. The recently signed legislation allows boards to hold half of their yearly meetings remotely, up from 25%.
Every year, the governor said he makes about 850 appointments to these boards. According to the governor’s office, Youngkin has increased the number of Southwest Virginia residents he’s appointed to state boards every year since he took office in 2022.
In 2024, of the more than 1,500 currently seated members appointed by Youngkin, 118 are from the 9th Congressional District. That means that nearly 10% of boards and commissions have members from Southwest Virginia.
In 2023, 65 appointees were from the 9th District, while there were 53 appointed from the district in 2022.
The district covers 23 counties and five cities in Southwest Virginia and parts of the Alleghany Highlands and Southside. About 9% of the state’s population lives there.
The legislation — HB 894 and SB 734 — was sponsored by Del. Elizabeth Bennett-Parker, D-Alexandria, and Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax County, respectively.
Bennett-Parker said she has been working on the issue for four years; she sponsored a bill that was signed into law in 2022 that created the ability for some public bodies to hold all-virtual meetings outside of an emergency.
This year’s legislation increases flexibility for public advisory bodies whose members are not elected to meet virtually, which residents across the state have been asking for, she said. Guardrails are also retained to protect public access and transparency, the delegate said.
Most board members aren’t compensated, and expecting them to travel across the state for a meeting is not realistic and limits who can serve, she added.
“Members of our communities want to serve but may face barriers such as their professional obligations (from not being able to devote an entire day to drive to Richmond for a meeting), child care, and transportation (including for seniors who do not want to drive at night or for long distances). For many residents in Southwest Virginia, driving five hours each way for a two-hour meeting in Richmond is a substantial barrier to participation,” Bennett-Parker said in an email.
The change also requires a body to vote on its virtual meeting policy at least annually, rather than just once, she added.
It does not alter the ability of individual members to participate remotely during an in-person meeting, which can be done for a number of reasons including an emergency or a disability, or because a board member lives more than 60 miles from Richmond.
The legislation amends the electronic meetings section of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. It was supported by a host of organizations including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, the League of Women Voters, the Virginia Municipal League and the Virginia Association of Counties. It was opposed by the Virginia Press Association (of which Cardinal News is a member), and by the Virginia Coalition for Open Government.
Megan Rhyne, executive director of the coalition, said in an email that her organization opposed the measure because it “further erodes opportunities for citizens to engage with their representatives and for those representatives to fully engage with each other. We still consider face-to-face interaction the better way to discuss and craft public policy.”
At the March stop in Abingdon, the governor pointed to Beth Rhinehart, president and CEO of the Bristol Chamber of Commerce, as an example of a Southwest Virginia resident who stepped up to serve on a state board. In July 2023, Youngkin appointed her to the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority board of directors.
The authority was set up by the General Assembly in 2020. The following year, state Sen. Todd Pillion, R-Washington County, sponsored legislation to add a board member from Southwest Virginia.
Rhinehart, who has for years been a leading advocate for extending passenger rail to and through Bristol, expressed an interest in the seat and applied for the position.
She said serving on the board has been time-consuming but rewarding.
She encourages others from far Southwest Virginia to get involved on a state board or commission that would be a good fit for their interests and experience.
“It’s a great honor to be able to serve,” Rhinehart said. “It is time-consuming, but if you approach it from wanting to really make things better, or provide value and stay informed, and you do your homework, then it’s a good fit most of the time. I wouldn’t ask to be on the Board of Medicine because I’m not a physician, but we can approach things that make sense. If you go into it with an open mind and a willingness to dig in and learn and listen, then I think it’s good for Southwest Virginia to be represented.”
Marybeth Matthews-Adkins of Norton is another resident of Southwest Virginia who agreed last year to serve on a state board. She is the executive director of Family Crisis Support Services, an agency that helps victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking and homelessness in five counties in the coalfields.
She was recommended by the Department of Criminal Justice for a seat on the board of the Advisory Committee on Sexual and Domestic Violence. She applied and was appointed.
Like Rhinehart, Matthews-Adkins encourages others from Southwest Virginia to get involved because the region is different from other parts of Virginia and needs to be represented.
“We all have different barriers. We all have different successes. What works in someone else’s community may not work in ours. … I’m having to differentiate myself from Roanoke. It’s just important that we have a voice because we’re not like everyone else. We don’t have the resources they do.”
For example, during a discussion about how a lack of transportation can be a barrier to people receiving necessary services, some board members were surprised when she told them there is no Uber service in her area.
And serving on the board offers opportunities for introductions, collaborations and partnerships that otherwise wouldn’t happen, Matthews-Adkins pointed out.
“The networking opportunity is huge,” she said, adding that representatives of the offices of the attorney general and the governor also attend.
She called serving on the board a privilege.
“For me, it’s a meaningful way to serve the community and just make a lasting impact,” said Matthews-Adkins, who said she has traveled to Richmond for previous meetings and stayed overnight. She was reimbursed for her hotel and mileage, but she acknowledged that it was time-consuming.
Youngkin encouraged Southwest Virginia residents to consider applying for the positions, which he emphasized are not paid.
Once those interested fill out an application, the governor advised them to let their state legislators know so they can call it to his attention.
“I just encourage you folks if you have an interest and the time,” the governor said. “It’s so important that we have knowledgeable, capable folks from all over Virginia, and particularly Southwest Virginia.”