For her efforts in support of Virginia women, children and families, one of Arlington’s state senators has received the Arlington County Bar Foundation’s highest honor.
Sen. Barbara Favola (D-40) was presented with the 35th annual William Winston Award during the foundation’s annual luncheon, held at Washington Golf & Country Club last week.
She joins a distinguished roster of attorneys, judges, lawmakers and civic leaders in receiving the honor, named after a longtime circuit court judge.
Favola serves as “an example and a model for each of us,” said her Senate colleague, Lieutenant Governor-elect Ghazala Hashmi (D). Hashmi, who traveled from Richmond for the awards ceremony, saluted the “dedication, determination and pure grit” of the honoree.
“She doesn’t give up,” Hashmi said.
Clerk of the Circuit Court Paul Ferguson, who served on the County Board with Favola for a decade, said he often viewed their relationship as a little brother learning from his big sister.
“As with a lot of big sisters, she was a little impatient at times,” Ferguson joked.
In 1997, Favola won a special election to fill the seat of County Board member James Hunter III, who stepped down due to illness. In 2011, she moved up to the Virginia Senate after winning a race to succeed the retiring Mary Margaret Whipple.
Among those offering remarks was Darcy Hubbard, executive director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Fairfax. The nonprofit organization provides support services to children facing abuse and neglect.
Hubbard said that Favola — who spent a decade on the CASA board — led with optimism and compassion.
“Her attitude is one of ‘we can do this,'” Hubbard said. “She is guided by her belief that every young child deserves the chance to thrive.”
Favola, who chairs the Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services, is respected on both sides of the political aisle, Hubbard added.
In accepting the award, Favola quoted Democratic lawmaker Hubert Humphrey:
“The moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”
She also quoted Frederick Douglass, who said “it is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.”
“As a legislator, I try to focus on helping to enable those living on the fringes of society to gain more opportunities,” Favola said in her remarks.
In his comments, Ferguson noted that Favola had learned how to navigate Arlington’s sometimes unique governance structure with the assistance of the likes of Whipple, Ellen Bozman and Karen Darner — “three of the greatest leaders Arlington has had,” he said.
Bozman died in 2009, but Darner and Whipple were in attendance at the ceremony. Each is a previous recipient of the Winston Award.
The Bar Foundation honor has been presented since 1990. The first honoree was its namesake, William Winston (1923-2007).
Winston represented Arlington in the House of Delegates from 1955-65, when his colleagues elected him to the Circuit Court serving Arlington. He served there until 1998, including, for the last two decades of his tenure, as chief judge.
Winston represented a link to Arlington’s judicial past, as his early years on the Circuit Court were served under the legendary Judge Walter McCarthy, who served on the bench for 42 years from the 1930s to the 1970s.
With Democrats in control of all three statewide offices and both houses of the General Assembly starting in January, Ferguson predicted Favola will be active, and successful, with her legislative agenda.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing what she’s going to accomplish in the years ahead,” he said.
