RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion Virginia Power and the Library of Virginia have launched a new educational initiative that merges Dominion's "Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership" series with the library's "African Trailblazers in Virginia History" initiative. The new program is named "Strong Men & Women in Virginia History."

The program will continue to honor the leadership of prominent African Americans, but beginning this year, it will focus on those African Americans – past and present – whose accomplishments have made significant contributions to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"It seemed natural and practical to meld the Library of Virginia's African American Trailblazers in Virginia History with Dominion's longstanding Strong Men & Women: Excellence in Leadership" series," said Librarian of Virginia Sandra G. Treadway. "This partnership is a win-win, not only for the Library and Dominion, but also for Virginia's citizens and anyone interested in learning about African Americans – past and present – who have made significant contributions to the Commonwealth of Virginia, our nation, and the world."

"We are honored to partner with the esteemed Library of Virginia to recognize and honor African Americans who have had an impact on the commonwealth's history," said Paul D. Koonce, chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power. "Combining the two programs offers outstanding opportunities to highlight the accomplishments of both historical and contemporary men and women."

An awards ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Richmond Marriott Hotel.

The 2013 honorees are:

• Brigadier General Gwen Bingham – first female Quartermaster General & Commandant of the U.S. Army Quartermaster School, Fort Lee
• Peter Jacob Carter* – House of Delegates -1871, Accomack
• Jennie Serepta Dean* – established Manassas Industrial School-1894, Manassas
• Nannie B. Hairston – Civil Rights activist, Christiansburg
• Robert Russa Moton* – educator and founder of the Negro Organization Society of Virginia-1912, Prince Edward County
• Xavier R. Richardson – founder and director of The Partnership for Academic Excellence, Fredericksburg
• Robert L. Satcher Jr., M.D, Ph.D. – astronaut and first orthopedic surgeon in space, Hampton
• Reverend Wyatt Tee Walker – Civil Rights activist, author, religious leader, Chesterfield *deceased

High school students in Virginia participated in the Strong Men & Women in Virginia History student essay writing contest, in which they wrote about their development as a leader and their contributions to their communities. The winners, also being honored Jan. 30, each will receive a laptop, and their schools each will receive a $1,000 cash award.

The essay winners are:

• John Roakes – Hanover High School, Hanover County
• Michelle Graham – Windsor High School, Isle of Wight County
• Donovan McLaurine – Courtland High School, Spotsylvania County
• Daroon Jalil – Turner Ashby High School, Rockingham County

Dominion's website, www.dom.com, search: 'strong' will maintain its past information on the Excellence in Leadership series with a new link to the Library of Virginia's website, http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/smw/.

Dominion (NYSE: D) is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 27,400 megawatts of generation. Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage system and serves retail energy customers in 15 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

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SOURCE Dominion Virginia Power