An enthusiastic thumbs up to Nelson County’s own Jimmy Fortune who will be formally inducted as a member of the Virginia Music Hall of Fame during a ceremony tonight at Nelson County High School in Lovingston.
Though Fortune was born in Williamsburg, his family soon moved to Nelson County, where you can’t swing a 10-foot rope without hitting a member of the Fortune family. And it’s Nelson that Fortune considers his hometown.
For years, he performed with The Statler Brothers, singing tenor in group. After the Statlers retired in 2002, Fortune struck out on his own, touring as a solo artist.
Though he’s already a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame for his career with the Statlers, the Virginia Music Hall of Fame induction is for his solo career.
Doors open tonight at 6 with the concert beginning at 7. You can purchase tickets at the door for $23, and all proceeds will benefit the high school’s band program.
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Thumbs up to Doug Schuch, the superintendent of Bedford County Public Schools, on his being named the Region 5 Superintendent of the Year.
Schuch has served as Bedford superintendent since 2009, arriving in Central Virginia as the youngest schools chief in the region. He was no stranger to public education though, having spent the previous 16 years in teaching and administrative posts in the school divisions of Fairfax and Stafford counties.
Before embarking on his career in public education, Schuch served in the United States Navy and is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm.
Congratulations on this well-deserved honor.