Tennessee SJR 7096: Memorials, Retirement - Debra G. Shults -

Bill Text

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SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 7096
By Akbari

SJR7096
008299
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A RESOLUTION to recognize Debra G. Shults on the occasion of
her retirement.

WHEREAS, it is appropriate that the members of this General Assembly should honor
those individuals who have performed with uncommon devotion and enthusiasm throughout
their years of public service; and
WHEREAS, Debra G. Shults is one such estimable person, who, after more than forty-
one years of devoted service to the State of Tennessee, will take her much-deserved
retirement; and
WHEREAS, having earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Health from
East Tennessee State University, Debra Shults began her illustrious career with the Tennessee
Department of Environment and Conservation's Division of Radiological Health in 1982, working
as a health physicist inspector; and
WHEREAS, she rose through the ranks, becoming manager of the technical services
section of the division and managing statewide programs for environmental monitoring,
emergency response, waste management, and regulations development; and
WHEREAS, in 2000, Ms. Shults became deputy director, and in 2010, she accepted the
position of director; she also serves as the primary emergency services coordinator of the
division; and
WHEREAS, a prominent leader in her profession, Debra Shults has served as
commissioner for the Southeast Compact Commission for Low-Level Radioactive Waste
Management since 1989; additionally, she has served as vice-chair and chair of the Southeast
Compact Commission; and

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WHEREAS, Ms. Shults served the Organization of Agreement States (OAS) Executive
Board as treasurer from 2014 to 2017 and as secretary in 2018; she was also selected as a
recipient of the 2020 OAS Hall of Fame Award; and
WHEREAS, Debra Shults championed the National Materials Program and promoted
the concept that the Agreement States and the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission should
work as equal partners toward the same goal; and
WHEREAS, Debra Shults continues to serve as a role model, empowering young
women and scientists across the nation; she is wholly committed to the noble precepts of public
service that have earned Tennessee recognition as the Volunteer State, and she should be
specially recognized; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRTEENTH
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we extend to Debra G. Shults our heartfelt wishes
for a happy and fulfilling retirement and every continued success in her future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
without House or Senate designation.