Representative Rob Wittman, who has represented Virginia’s “1st Congressional District” (often referred to as “America’s First District”) since 2007, is scheduled to be the Guest Speaker at the chapter’s October dinner event. (There is an outside chance he might have to cancel at the last minute due to Congressional activities in Washington, D.C.) Representative Wittman is no stranger to the chapter and has been a guest speaker on a couple of other occasions. 

 

Representative Wittman was born in Washington, D.C and grew up in Henrico County, VA. He attended Virginia Tech (then known as “Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University”), was a member of the Corps of Cadets, and participated in the Army ROTC program there. He was a Biology major and spent the summers working at a tomato cannery and on a fishing vessel. He graduated from with a B.S. in Biology and also eventually earned a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1990 and a Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2002. He worked for 26 years with the Virginia state government, most recently as the Field Director for the Virginia Department of Health Department’s Division of where he served as an environmental health specialist and later was a Field Director for the Division of Shellfish Sanitation. Prior to his employment with the state he worked for many years as an environmental specialist for local health departments in the Northern Neck and Middle Peninsula regions.

 

His political activities began in 1986 while living in Montross, VA. He served on the Montross Town Council from 1986 – 1996 and was the Mayor of the Town of Montross from 1992 – 1996. He then served on the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors from 1996-2005, serving the last two years as the Chairman. In 2005, he was elected to the Virginia House of Delegates to represent Virginia’s 99th District. During his tenure in the Virginia House, he served on the Agricultural, Chesapeake and Natural Resources, and Police and Public Safety Committees. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2007 during a “special election” to succeed the late Congresswoman, Jo Ann Davis and has represented the 1st District ever since then.

 

He currently serves on the House Armed Services Committee and is the Ranking Member on the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and also serves on the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee. He additionally serves on the Committee of Natural Resources, where he serves on the Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife.  

 

He and his wife, Kathryn, and two sons, Devon & Josh reside in Montross, VA.