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Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security Gentry O. Smith
WELDON, N.C.—Weldon native Gentry O. Smith, Assistant Secretary of State for Diplomatic Security, will speak about "Weldon and the World," describing his experiences and lessons learned from his international career as a diplomat and law enforcement officer. The event will be held on Friday, February 10, 1:00 p.m., at the Weldon High School gymnasium, 415 County Road, and is free and open to the public.
Smith oversees the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), the federal law enforcement and security arm of the U.S. Department of State. He is only the third DSS special agent to be appointed to the position of Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security and the first Black special agent to serve in that role.
During his 30-plus years of domestic and foreign service with DSS, the Assistant Secretary has served as a regional security officer at U.S. embassies in Tokyo, Japan, and Rangoon, Burma, and was stationed in Cairo, Egypt, for two tours of duty. Additionally, his work has taken him to many countries to engage with diplomats and officials on matters of dignitary protection, passport and visa fraud, threat analysis, cybersecurity, antiterrorism training and security technology.
Smith is often heard saying that his formative years in Weldon have served him well throughout his personal and professional life. "Wherever I have gone and whatever I've done, I've taken pride in demonstrating that I was raised and taught well." His life of service is a model for young people today.
Smith is the son of the late Oliver R. Smith and Dorothy Virginia Smith, the brother of Weldon Commissioner Rev. John W. Smith, Sr., and brother of the late Pamela Smith Whitaker of Rocky Mount. He received a BA in political science from North Carolina State University where, in 2018, he was recognized as a distinguished alumnus. After graduation, he served as a police officer in Raleigh until 1987 when he joined DSS as a special agent.
Smith's visit to his native Weldon is co-sponsored by the newly formed town revitalization non-profit Weldon In Action and Tau Beta Beta Chapter of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. He is Weldon In Action's second guest speaker in its Weldon Heritage Speaker Series and is speaking during Black History Month.
For more information contact James "Coach Tank" Williams at coachtank@hotmail.com or (252) 578-4066.
Agency to Host Virtual Informational Events for Qualified Applicants February 6-9.
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration announcedvirtual events will be held for applicantsfor its seventh Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC). The GAFC will offer $13 million in prizes awarded in 2023 and 2024 aimed at expanding growth accelerators and creating innovative partnerships with inclusive approaches toward supporting entrepreneurs in STEM (Science Technology Engineering Math) and research and development (R&D).
“SBA’s impactful Growth Accelerator Fund Competition provides prizes to entrepreneurial support organizations (ESOs) that serve as catalysts for our thriving, inclusive national innovation ecosystem,” said Bailey DeVries, Associate Administrator of Investment and Innovation. “These awards reflect a priority across the Biden-Harris Administration to advance equity by incentivizing greater collaboration and partnership among stakeholders and supporting the development of inclusive growth accelerators that will empower underserved entrepreneurs. I encourage ecosystem builders and entrepreneurial support organizations with great ideas to accelerate growth and drive for innovation to apply as soon as possible.”
Entrepreneurs interested in applying for the Growth Accelerator Competition are encouraged to join one of the informational online webinars.The online webinars will provide information on the competition and will facilitate connections between ESOs and potential partners working on similar themes across the nation. The webinar offerings are as follows:
Feb. 6: National Security and Global Competitiveness, including but not limited to National Security and Defense; International Trade; Public Health
Feb. 7: Domestic Manufacturing and Production, including but not limited to AgTech, Food Security, and Nutrition; Supply Chain Resiliency; Critical and Resilient Infrastructure
Feb. 8: Climate and Renewable Energy, including but not limited to Climate and Environment, Energy, and Sustainability
Feb. 9: Under-Represented People, Places, and Themes
Interested applicants should RSVP for a webinar here: https://bit.ly/GAFC23ThemeConvening. Stage One Catalyze submissions are being accepted now until Feb. 24. Multiplier Bonus Prizes will be available for new and rural-focused Ecosystem Partners.
Since 2014, SBA has made nearly 400 awards to Innovation Growth Accelerators in 52 states and territories, establishing a solid network of innovation support for startups and small businesses across the country. New this year, the competition places greater emphasis on fostering connections across innovation ecosystem stakeholders. Entrepreneur Support Organizations (ESOs) motivated to strengthen and increase equitable access to resources for underserved communities and industries should visit Challenge.Gov.
RICHMOND, Va. – Elected officials serving in the Virginia General Assembly have a short amount of time to potentially discuss thousands of proposed measures that are either defeated or signed into law.
Over 1,900 bills were introduced this session, in addition to joint resolutions and legislation carried over from last year. So far, over 100 bills have failed to advance in the House and over 300 in the Senate. There are over 1,000 bills pending in the House and over 500 in the Senate, with the session midpoint approaching.
Here are a few of the bills that failed to advance this session.
Senate Bill 1288: Petition for defendant to pay child support due to wrongful death of child's guardian resulting from driving under the influence
The measure introduced by Sen. Bill DeSteph, R-Virginia Beach, would allow the court to consider child support payment in an instance of wrongful death of a child's parent or legal guardian that was caused by driving under the influence.
The legislation was passed by indefinitely with a 14-0 vote in the Senate Judiciary committee and is likely dead for the session.
Committee members felt the bill did not add additional value to the current scenarios in wrongful death civil cases.
Sen. Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, questioned the legislation because it is not "a policy solution to a specific problem."
"It's not clear to me why we would say 'you pay child support if somebody dies by drunk driving instead of murder,'" Surovell said during the committee.
Senate Bill 880: In-person absentee voting period shortened to week prior to any elections
The measure, introduced by Sen. Ryan McDougle, R-Hanover, would shorten the in-person absentee voting period to seven days prior to the election. Currently, absentee voting in person begins 45 days before the election.
The bill would create a burden at high-volume localities, Sen. Adam Ebbin, D-Alexandria, said during the committee hearing.
"They would need hundreds of people [staff] to get those people not having to wait for hours and hours in line," Ebbin said
The legislation was passed by indefinitely with a 10-4 vote in the Senate Privileges and Elections committee.
House Bill 1720: Eliminates one-year divorce waiting period due to cruelty, bodily hurt
Del. Nadarius Clark, D-Portsmouth, introduced a measure to eliminate the one-year period spouses wait to be pronounced divorced and legally separated. A separation or divorce would be granted before the one-year period in cases of spousal abuse such as cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily harm, abandonment or desertion and more by either party. The bill would have applied to divorce filings on or after July 1.
A divorce is currently permitted if the parties lived apart without interruption for one year, or entered into a separation agreement and have no minor-aged children born or adopted, and lived apart without interruption for six months.
An anti-human trafficking advocate and victim of spousal abuse offered testimony on behalf of the bill.
"Right now, this does not solve the problem that Del. Clarke wants to solve," said Richard Garriott, with the Virginia Family Law Coalition, in opposition to the bill. "We have a solution for that, it is called an emergency and permanent protective order."
The House of Delegates Courts of Justice subcommittee defeated the bill with a 5-3 vote.
House Bill 2003: Enforcement of sexual harassment and workplace discrimination training and education
Del. Paul Krizek, D-Fairfax, introduced a bill to require employers with 50 or more employees to provide annual interactive sexual harassment and workplace discrimination training and education. Employees in a supervisory role would be required to complete at least two hours of training. Other employees would be required to complete one hour.
A provision in the bill called for migrant and seasonal agricultural workers to have the one-hour training, to start Jan. 1, 2024.
Employees would receive a certificate of completion.
A House Commerce and Energy subcommittee recommended the bill not advance, with a 5-3 vote. Still to come
There will be plenty of other failed bills this session. In fact, gridlock is to be expected when "voters put one party in charge of one chamber and the other party in charge of the other," according to Stephen Farnsworth, director of the University of Mary Washington Center for Leadership and Media Studies and a political science professor.
"From guns to abortion to taxes to schools, Republicans and Democrats in Richmond demonstrate over and over again that there is little interest in compromise in these polarized times," Farnsworth stated in an email.
The session is approaching the midpoint with "crossover day" on Feb. 7, which is when a bill must have passed its respective chamber in order to advance, or it will be left behind.
