2026 SPECIAL SESSION I
ENROLLED
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2148
Commending Rita Carter Forrester.
Agreed to by the House of Delegates, June 22, 2026
WHEREAS, Rita Carter Forrester, a descendant of the legendary Carter Family and director of the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, has worked tirelessly to preserve and promote the Carter Family's legacy and to celebrate the musical traditions of the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, the original Carter Family, including A.P., Sara, and Maybelle, made country music history and helped establish the fabric of American country music with their first recordings beginning in 1927, during what Johnny Cash referred to as the “Big Bang of Country Music”; and
WHEREAS, over succeeding decades, the Carter Family introduced hundreds of songs that became part of the American country music canon, including “Wildwood Flower,” “Keep on the Sunny Side,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” and “The Wabash Cannonball”; and
WHEREAS, Janette Carter, daughter of A.P. and Sara and mother of Rita Forrester, who fulfilled a deathbed promise to her father to “carry the music forward,” drew on her faith and the strength and inspiration of family and friends when she founded the Carter Family Fold, a weekly live traditional country music program and venue at the homeplace of the Carter Family, which has since become a vital part of the Commonwealth's contemporary cultural story; and
WHEREAS, Janette Carter's daughter, Rita Forrester, assisted her mother in producing and running the Carter Family Fold for many years, while also traveling to events regionally, nationally, and internationally to receive accolades and awards and meet with foreign dignitaries, including British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; and
WHEREAS, through trials and tribulations, Rita Forrester persevered in helping to maintain a consistent, quality, and authentic experience at the Carter Family Fold, ensuring all who came regularly from every state in the nation and many countries around the world would have the opportunity to enjoy authentic traditional American country music; and