WHEREAS, after 70 years of service as a school bus driver, Rutherford Ulysses Whitfield retired from Suffolk Public Schools in 2024; and

WHEREAS, Rutherford Whitfield was offered a job as a school bus driver while he was still a student at East Suffolk High School and subsequently drove his first bus route in September 1954 when he was only 16 years old; and

WHEREAS, over the course of his long career, Rutherford Whitfield ensured students arrived to and from school safely and efficiently, and he strove to be a positive influence in the lives of the young people in his care; and

WHEREAS, in addition to driving a bus, Rutherford Whitfield worked in the East Suffolk High School cafeteria, and at age 20, he was appointed as the director of the John F. Kennedy High School cafeteria; and

WHEREAS, Rutherford Whitfield later worked in the cafeteria at Sentara Obici Hospital for more than three decades, while still driving his bus route; and

WHEREAS, Rutherford Whitfield ultimately became the longest-serving employee of Suffolk Public Schools, having touched countless lives through his professionalism and enthusiasm; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Rutherford Ulysses Whitfield hereby be commended on the occasion of his retirement as a school bus driver for Suffolk Public Schools; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Rutherford Ulysses Whitfield as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for his exceptional legacy of service to young people in Suffolk.