While serving part-time in the General Assembly as discussed below, Bemiss was vice-president of FitzGerald and Company (a family business), but ultimately resigned that legislative position because of his responsibilities as the president of Virginia Skyline Co. (another family business, that operated concessions along Skyline Drive through Shenandoah National Park and the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia).
[1] Bemiss served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates representing the City of Richmond from 1955 to 1959 during the Massive Resistance crisis.
[4] Bemiss was appointed first to the Gray Commission, which had been created to respond to the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions overturning racial segregation in public schools.
He was skeptical of its attempts to close schools that complied with desegregation orders, which the General Assembly later adopted as part of the Stanley Plan.
After his resignation to serve in the state Senate, Richmond's seven-member delegation changed with T. Coleman Andrews Jr. and David E. Satterfield III taking office on January 13, 1960, replacing Bemiss and Thomas N. Parker Jr.
Bemiss later served on the Virginia Commission on Outdoor Recreation (charged with preserving as well as utilizing parks, historic landmarks and scenic rivers and roads).
[8][9] In addition to supporting his Episcopal Church, Bemiss served as chairman of the boards of the Richmond Library, and of the Woodberry Forest School.