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Board of Trustees of the Senator Frank M. Ruff Center for Rural Virginia

Commerce and Trade

Purpose

The Board of Trustees of the Center for Rural Virginia shall manage, control, maintain and operate the center to sustain economic growth in the rural areas of the Commonwealth.

Term

Legislative members and ex officio members shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office. Initial appointments of nonlegislative citizen members shall be staggered as follows: four members for a term of three years appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; two members for a term of two years appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and one member for a term of two years appointed by the Governor. Thereafter, nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates or the Senate Committee on Rules shall be appointed for a term of two years, and nonlegislative citizen members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for a term of four years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. All members may be reappointed. However, no nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates or the Senate Committee on Rules shall serve more than four consecutive two-year terms, and no nonlegislative citizen member appointed by the Governor shall serve more than two consecutive four-year terms. The remainder of any term to which a member is appointed to fill a vacancy shall not constitute a term in determining the member's eligibility for reappointment. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments.

Composition

The Center shall be governed by a board of trustees consisting of 21 members that include six legislative members, 12 nonlegislative citizen members, and three ex officio members to be appointed as follows: four members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates in accordance with the principles of proportional representation contained in the Rules of the House of Delegates; two members of the Senate, to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; six nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Delegates; four nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Senate Committee on Rules; and two nonlegislative citizen members to be appointed by the Governor, subject to confirmation by the General Assembly. The Lieutenant Governor, or his designee, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, or his designee, and the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, or his designee, shall serve ex officio with voting privileges. Nonlegislative citizen members of the Board shall be citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Vacant Seats

The seat descriptions indicate if there is a specific requirement for that seat (a profession, consumer, someone who lives in a certain congressional district, etc.). If there is only a number listed (Seat 7), there is no specific criteria for that seat. A “citizen” seat requires someone who is not affiliated with that profession. If you're interested in any of these seats, please submit an application here.

Member of the General Public	1 seat
Total seats available: 1

Current Board Members

Ms. Elizabeth Gerke Povar

Member of the General Public Membership expires on 6/30/2028