Del. Anne Crockett-Stark never won an endorsement from The Roanoke Times, but she won four terms in the Virginia House of Delegates just the same.

Crockett-Stark worked hard for the people of the 6th House District, in and around Wythe County, with energy and devotion that were the natural fruits of her temperament and her family roots in Virginia’s far Southwest.

Her loyalty was returned in kind. In the 2009 campaign, a well-funded Democratic opponent outspent Republican Crockett-Stark by more than 2 to 1, making her victory by an almost 2-to-1 margin all the sweeter. There’s little doubt her seat would be safe for as long as she wanted it. But at 70, she wants more time with family, and won’t seek a fifth term.

The woman known as Annie B. is known also for the bejeweled bee pin, which she has in a seemingly unlimited array of colors, that she wears with every outfit. It’s an endearing eccentricity, though Crockett-Stark’s attentive care to constituent services suggests more mother hen than queen bee as her animal totem.

Hers must be a honey bee.

Weather Journal

10 hours ago