From the July 19, 2004 edition of the New Castle Record
It’s not every day a Craig County woman gets a kiss from the governor. But then, it’s not every day Marie Dobyns turns 75. Gov. Mark Warner bestowed the birthday kiss on Dobyns for her 75th birthday June 24.
It happened at Boys State, where Dobyns has led the chorus for 24 years. “You can hardly get almost 800 people wishing you happy birthday,” said Dobyns, who was congratulated all day by the boys attending the annual leadership event at Liberty University. “It was a fun time all day long, having all those boys congratulating me,” she said. “They were the sweetest things. I was just like a grandmother to them.”
Dobyns has been a supporter of both Boys State and Girls State programs for 46 years. She now concentrates her time on Boys State, directing the Boys Statesmen of Note Chorus.
“Boys State is a wonderful program,” said Dobyns. Her late husband volunteered with Boys State for 36 years, she said.
As far as how Warner knew about her birthday, Dobyns said, “Somebody put a bug in his ear.”
-Prepared by Shelly Koon
From The New Castle Record archives
