--- title: HR 2089. Veal, Gail; 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor recipient; commend collection: bills id: 2025-2026/hr2089 cite_as: HR 2089, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr2089 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr2089.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr2089/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74702 date: 2026-04-02 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr2088.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr2090.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 134 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr2089.md?full=1 bill_number: HR 2089 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: House bill_type: resolution status_date: 2026-04-02 last_action: House Read and Adopted sponsors: - Katie Dempsey - Eddie Lumsden - Matt Barton text_version: Introduced has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/HR2089/2025 upstream_id: 2141031 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - community award - Rome Georgia - legislative honor - Rome City Schools --- # HR 2089. Veal, Gail; 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor recipient; commend ## Text House Resolution 2089 By: Representatives Dempsey of the 13th, Lumsden of the 12th, and Barton of the 5th A RESOLUTION Recognizing and commending the 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor recipient Gail Veal; and for other purposes. WHEREAS, a native of Rome, Gail Veal attended Model High School, earned a bachelor's degree from Shorter College, and worked as a special education teacher within the Floyd County School System before joining Rome City Schools; and WHEREAS, Gail collaborated with Communities in Schools and served as both the Pre-K Coordinator and a dedicated Site Coordinator until her retirement in 2002; and WHEREAS, Gail has served as a member of the Senior Promotion Council Board, A Voice For Votes, and the United Way of Rome & Floyd County; and WHEREAS, Gail has participated as a One Community United decorator, MLK Jr. Annual Community Breakfast member and decorator, African American Connection for the Arts assistant to the director, and on the Rome/Floyd NAACP Veterans and Education Committee; and WHEREAS, Gail has actively supported Anna K. Davie Elementary School as a mentor, the Miss Rome/Northwest Georgia Board of Directors, the Coosa Valley Fair Queen Competition as candidate assistance, and Toys for Tots as an assembler and donor; and WHEREAS, Gail has been the distinguished recipient of the Rome City Schools Support Employee of the Year Award in 2004 and 2023, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Most Valuable Soror in 2016 and 2018, and an Unsung SHEro nomination by the Queens Ministry; and WHEREAS, Gail Veal has blessed the Rome and Floyd County community through her compassion and dedication, and she is the embodiment of selfless service whose life work has been entirely devoted to bettering the world around her. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES that the members of this body recognize Gail Veal for her outstanding dedication to the community, commend her as a recipient of the 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor, and extend the most sincere best wishes for continued success. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Clerk of the House of Representatives is authorized and directed to make an appropriate copy of this resolution available for distribution to Gail Veal. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the resolution. Quote the text, not the summary. A Georgia House resolution honors Gail Veal of Rome for her decades of community service as she receives the 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor. ### Plain-language summary This is a ceremonial resolution passed by the Georgia House of Representatives recognizing Gail Veal, a longtime Rome and Floyd County community member, as the recipient of the 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor. The resolution recounts her career as a special education teacher and later as Pre-K Coordinator and Site Coordinator with Rome City Schools until her 2002 retirement, along with her extensive volunteer work with groups like the United Way of Rome & Floyd County, the NAACP Veterans and Education Committee, and Toys for Tots. The resolution does not change any Georgia law. It formally commends Veal and directs the Clerk of the House to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to her. ### What it does - Formally commends Gail Veal as the recipient of the 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor for her community service in Rome and Floyd County. - Recites her career history as a special education teacher and Rome City Schools administrator and her volunteer work with numerous local organizations. - Directs the Clerk of the House of Representatives to prepare a copy of the resolution for distribution to Gail Veal. - Extends the House's best wishes to Veal for continued success but creates no new rights, funding, or legal requirements. ### Who it affects This resolution directly names and honors one individual, Gail Veal, a retired Rome City Schools employee and community volunteer. It has no legal effect on any other group of Georgians, businesses, or government agencies. ### Why it matters The resolution is a symbolic honor rather than a change in law or policy. Its main real-world effect is a formal, documented recognition by the Georgia House of Representatives of Gail Veal's community service, along with an official copy provided to her. ### Key provisions - The whereas clauses describe Veal's education, career with Floyd County Schools and Rome City Schools, and her retirement in 2002. - The whereas clauses list her volunteer roles, including with the United Way of Rome & Floyd County and the Rome/Floyd NAACP Veterans and Education Committee. - The resolved clause formally commends Veal as the 2026 Heart of Community Award of Honor recipient. - The final clause directs the Clerk of the House to make a copy of the resolution available for distribution to Veal. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-04-02) - Last action: House Read and Adopted (2026-04-02) - Sponsors: Katie Dempsey, Eddie Lumsden, Matt Barton - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/74702 > The history, votes, and amendments (134 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hr2089.md?full=1