Virginia HR 320: Commending Deborah Pratt.

Bill Text

2023SESSION
ENROLLED
HOUSERESOLUTIONNO.320
Commending Deborah Pratt.
AgreedtobytheHouseofDelegates,February21,2023
WHEREAS, Deborah Pratt, a longtime member of the Middlesex County community, is known
throughout the Commonwealth as a world-champion oyster shucker and as one of the icons of the sport;
and
WHEREAS, Deborah Pratt grew up immersed in the oyster industry, with parents and other family
members who worked in the trade; and
WHEREAS, Deborah Pratt started shucking oysters professionally in 1975 in the same oyster house
where her parents met in the 1950s, and she worked tirelessly at the job to support her family while
also managing a 35-year career as a nurse; and
WHEREAS, over the past several years, Deborah Pratt and her sister, Clementine Macon Boyd, have
established themselves as the competition to beat at local oyster shucking competitions, with the ability
to cleanly shuck and present two dozen oysters each in less than three minutes; and
WHEREAS, Deborah Pratt has been declared champion at the annual Urbanna Oyster Festival's
Virginia State Oyster Shucking Competition multiple times and also achieved success at the U.S.
National Oyster Shucking Championship Contest in St. Mary's County, Maryland, and the World Oyster
Opening Championship in Galway, Ireland, where she competed four times; and
WHEREAS, Deborah Pratt and her sister, Clementine, were fixtures at the annual Richmond Folk
Festival over several years as their "Shucking Smackdown" competition became one of the event's
biggest draws; and
WHEREAS, Deborah Pratt competed at the 65th annual Urbanna Oyster Festival in November 2022
before a large crowd of adoring fans, winning the professional women's competition true to form; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Deborah Pratt, a superstar of the world of
oyster-shucking, hereby be commended for her legacy as a champion and ambassador of the sport; and,
be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution
for presentation to Deborah Pratt as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for her
remarkable accomplishments and her many contributions to the Commonwealth.
ENROLLED
HR320ER