Former FLCC Trustee Harry Burt honored for 17 years of service

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Harry Burt

Harry G. Burt of Geneva, who served 17 years on the Finger Lakes Community College Board of Trustees, received the Donald M. Mawhinney Trustee Leadership Award from the New York Community College Trustees organization during a ceremony on Sept. 22 in Saratoga Springs.The Donald M. Mawhinney Trustee Leadership Award is presented to a trustee who has demonstrated a significant commitment to the community college mission through exceptional leadership, inspired vision and outstanding professional contribution.Burt was one of three individuals across the state to receive the award this year. He began his tenure on the FLCC board in April 1995, the year he retired as president of Ontario National Bank in Clifton Springs. He served through June of this year. At its Sept. 5 meeting, the board voted to grant Burt the honorary designation of trustee emeritus.“I am deeply honored that the board chose to recognize me this way and by the Donald Mawhinney award,” Burt said. “The community college and community service have been very important to me. I have found both to be wonderful experiences.”Burt served as secretary of the FLCC Board of Trustees in 1997-98, vice chairman in 1998-99 and chairman from 1999 to 2002. He chaired the following committees as well: Buildings and Grounds in 2002-03 and from 2005 to 2007, Curriculum and Planning from 2003 to 2005, and Finance and Facilities from 2010 to 2012.In addition, Burt served as the liaison to the FLCC Projects Committee during the most significant expansion and renovation of the main campus since it was built in the mid 1970s.The board recognized Burt’s involvement in two projects in particular as examples of his vision and leadership: the transfer of ownership of the former Geneva Middle School to Ontario County for the creation of a permanent FLCC campus center in Geneva and the approval of the Cornell Agriculture and Food Technology Park in Geneva as the site for an FLCC Viticulture Center.“Throughout his tenure as a trustee, Harry Burt approached every meeting with enthusiasm and a positive spirit. For many years, he encouraged the college to consider a viticulture and wine technology program, and was delighted to see that project come to fruition,” said FLCC President Barbara Risser. “Harry is sincerely dedicated to Finger Lakes Community College and always has the best interest of our students at heart. We know Harry will remain a very good friend to the college and we look forward to his continued involvement.”Burt’s service to FLCC was enhanced by his roles in a wide range of organizations dedicated to health care, the arts, youth and community development. Burt is a past president and honorary member of the Clifton Springs Rotary Club, which named him a Paul Harris Fellow in 1994. He has chaired the boards of the Geneva General Hospital and the Geneva Historical Society and spent three years as coordinator of the Finger Lakes Social Ministry’s soup kitchen. He is a past secretary of the Independent Bankers Association of New York State and served as a member of the Geneva Chamber of Commerce.Burt graduated from St. John Fisher College in 1959 and Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University in 1972. He served in the Navy from 1951-55 and raised three children with his wife, Ann.