Bobblehead unveiled of Virginia the interpreter, Ky. Gov. Beshear’s popular sidekick
Once a bobblehead was unveiled of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in the fight against COVID-19, it was only a matter of time before his popular news briefing sidekick was recognized in the same way.
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum on Friday morning unveiled the first bobblehead of Virginia Moore, the American Sign Language interpreter who is part of Beshear’s daily 5 p.m coronavirus news briefings.
The museum will be donating $5 from every Virginia Moore Bobblehead sold to the Kentucky School for the Deaf Charitable Foundation to purchase clear masks for deaf and hard-of-hearing students and teachers, officials said in a news release.
Earlier this month, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a bobblehead of Beshear, noting his work against the coronavirus pandemic.
“Bobbleheads are the ultimate honor, and we think Virginia Moore deserves it given the unheralded work she has done and continues to do for the deaf and hard-of-hearing people in Kentucky during the battle against COVID-19,” National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum co-founder and CEO Phil Sklar said Friday. “After releasing the bobblehead of Gov. Beshear, we received a lot of requests for a bobblehead of Kentucky’s No. 1 interpreter, and we are excited to make it happen.”
During the daily coronavirus briefings, Moore, a certified American Sign Language interpreter, has been delivering information to the state’s estimated 700,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing people.
On a base bearing her name, the bobblehead features a smiling Moore making the American Sign Language symbol of love with her hands, the news release said. In addition to the head, the hands will also bobble.
The bobbleheads of Moore are only available through the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s online store. They are $25 each plus a flat-rate shipping charge of $8 per order. They will ship in August.
Sales of bobbleheads featuring Beshear, infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, White House coronavirus response coordinator Deborah Birx and other governors have raised over $200,000 for the Protect the Heroes fund in support of the 100 Million Mask Challenge.
A Louisville native, both of Moore’s parents were deaf as well as two of her four siblings, a news release said.
After graduating from Indiana University, Moore received her National Interpreter Certification and joined the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in 1995. She first served as the executive director’s interpreter, then as the state interpreter administrator before being appointed executive director in 2009. Moore also coordinates the biennial DeaFestival-Kentucky event.
Beshear told the Herald-Leader in March that he “couldn’t be more thankful for her leadership during this trying time and throughout her career advocating for the deaf and hard of hearing.”
Moore said in a March interview that she hopes her fame will be short-lived and that the state can get back to normal before too long. But she also hopes there’s a little girl or boy who’s deaf or hard of hearing that’s watching the daily briefing, “and they know that when they turn on the TV, they’re part of this, too, that we’re all one Kentucky team.
“It’s my five minutes of fame for what I hope is a much longer impact,” she said.