Virginia Moore Interpreter Bobblehead with a Cause Unveiled

Virginia Moore Interpreter Bobblehead with a Cause Unveiled

MILWAUKEE – This morning, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled a bobblehead of popular Kentucky interpreter Virginia Moore. During daily coronavirus briefings, Moore, a certified American Sign Language interpreter, has been front and center delivering important information to the state’s estimated 700,000 deaf or hard-of-hearing people.

The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and 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.

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 and will ship in August. On a base bearing her name, the bobblehead features a smiling Moore making the ASL symbol of love with her hands. In addition to the head, the hands will also bobble.

The bobblehead of Moore joins the bobblehead of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, which was released earlier this month. Sales of bobbleheads featuring Governor Beshear, Dr. Fauci, Dr. 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, Moore was born into a socially active deaf family. Both of her parents were deaf as well as two of her four siblings. 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, presented by KCDHH and the Knowledge Center on Deafness.

Standing beside Beshear as he delivers the latest news about the COVID-19 pandemic to the Bluegrass State, Moore’s popularity has skyrocketed on social media. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, “They’ve dubbed her the Robin to Beshear’s Batman and the crew to his Captain Kirk.” During a press conference in late-March, she was honored as a Kentucky Colonel – the highest honor bestowed by the commonwealth.

This is the first time that the governor’s office in Kentucky has welcomed a sign language interpreter for public appearances. That has especially pleased Moore. “I can easily tear up at how much this governor has opened the door for every individual to understand something,” she told the Courier-Journal. “There’s a community out there that needs to get this information as well.”

“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. “After releasing the bobblehead of Governor Beshear, we received a lot of requests for a bobblehead of Kentucky’s No. 1 interpreter and we are excited to make it happen.”

About the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum:
The National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum, which is located at 170 S. 1^st. St. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, opened to the public on February 1^st, 2019. The HOF and Museum also produces high quality, customized bobbleheads for retail sale as well as organizations, individuals and teams across the country. Visit us online and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.