Bill Text: VA HJR294 | 2024 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commending Dementi Studio.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2024-03-06 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ294ER) [HJR294 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2024-HJR294-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Dementi Studio, a photography studio in Richmond offering a range of services, including portraiture, business headshots, school photos, engagement and bridal portraits, commercial and event photography, drone photography, and photograph and print restoration, celebrates 100 years of service to its customers in 2024; and
WHEREAS, Anthony "Tony" L. Dementi, the founder of Dementi Studio, started his career working at W. W. Foster Studio, which was established in 1881 and located across from the Virginia State Capitol, focusing in his early years on commercial photography in addition to covering events for the Richmond News Leader; and
WHEREAS, Tony Dementi helped pioneer the use of self-contained flash bulbs, an innovation that transformed the photographic industry, by testing some of the first flash bulbs when capturing an event at the John Marshall Hotel in Richmond in 1928; and
WHEREAS, Tony Dementi trained and worked alongside his brother Frank Dementi and then his son Robert "Bob" Dementi, who went on to earn a master's degree in photography from the Professional Photographers of America, to be elected to become a member of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, and to serve as the president of the Virginia Professional Photographers Association; and
WHEREAS, Bob Dementi, who was recognized repeatedly over the course of his career for the quality of his portraiture, expanded Dementi Studio by acquiring Foster Studio of Richmond in 1972, uniting two of the city's historic photography firms; and
WHEREAS, Dementi Studio donated an extensive glass plate negative collection to what is now the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and other negatives of local interest to the Valentine Museum; and
WHEREAS, upon Tony Dementi's retirement, Bob Dementi and his wife, Elisabeth "Betty" Dementi, continued operating Dementi Studio and were later joined by their son Anthony "Rob" Dementi after he graduated from Washington and Lee University; and
WHEREAS, after Bob Dementi's passing in 1988, Betty and Rob Dementi assumed leadership of Dementi Studio, continuing the family tradition while initiating a transition to digital photography; and
WHEREAS, after Rob Dementi established another photography business in Salem, Betty Dementi carried on the business of Dementi Studio and was joined for several years by Wayne Dementi, Frank Dementi's son; and
WHEREAS, Dementi Studio has continued to operate since 2010 under the ownership of a member of the third generation of the Dementi family, Bob and Betty Dementi's daughter, Margit Dementi Rankin, with able leadership from David Miller, who joined the staff in 2005 and who in 2010 became principal photographer and studio director; and
WHEREAS, over its century-long history, Dementi Studio has employed over 150 artists and photographic technicians, many of whom established their own practices; meanwhile, the studio has both pioneered new technologies and continued to adapt to the latest technologies as the field has changed radically from glass plates to digital photography; and
WHEREAS, the Dementi family and Dementi Studio staff have always maintained a profound sense of the historic importance of documenting the people, history, and significant events of the region, including portraits of members of the General Assembly and governors of the Commonwealth; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Dementi Studio, a photography business in Richmond, on the occasion of its 100th anniversary; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Dementi Studio as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for the company's longevity and high-quality services.
