Gary Moore to Receive Presidential Medal of Distinction
Gary Moore to Receive Presidential Medal of Distinction
Award to be Presented at May 18 Commencement
May 14, 2014
President Joe Bertolino will award a Presidential Medal of Distinction to Vermont State Colleges Board Chair Gary W. Moore ’71. The award, created in 2013 by Bertolino, honors a prominent individual or organization who has contributed significantly to Lyndon State College, the NEK community, and the State of Vermont. The medal, designed by LSC Visual Arts student Brandon Heanssler, will be awarded during LSC’s Commencement Ceremony on May 19. LSC community members submitted nominees.
Moore is president of the consulting firm Gary W. Moore Associates. He teaches Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident Management around the U.S. for TEEX, a division of the Texas A&M University System. He also instructs for the Vermont Fire and Police Academies and he currently serves on the Vermont Hazardous Materials Response Team.
“I am humbled and honored,” Moore said. “LSC has a very special place in my heart for it is there I enrolled after returning from Vietnam, there I received my undergraduate degree, and there I met my wife of 44 years.”
Moore had a 22-year career at St. Johnsbury Academy, the last 16 as assistant headmaster. He is a former commissioner of the Vermont Fish & Game Department and he chaired the Vermont Water Resources Board, the Northeast Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies and served on the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission. He represents Vermont on the bi-state Connecticut River Joint Commissions and on the four-state Connecticut River Valley Flood Control Commission.
Bertolino said that he “[thinks] it is most appropriate to present this award as part of the celebration of this year’s graduating class. It is important that, as [these students] enter into the world as college graduates, they become acquainted with people who are modeling how courageously and consistently they can make a difference in the world.”
Moore has been a member of the VSC Board of Trustees since 1991 and was appointed board chair in 2006 by then Governor Douglas. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Lyndon State College, a master’s from Dartmouth College, and a CAGS in Administration and Planning from the University of Vermont.
This year, Moore also received New England Board of Higher Education’s (NEBHE) 2014 David C. Knapp Award for Trusteeship and was honored with a Vermont Senate resolution for his “accomplishments as an educator, environmentalist, and civic leader.”
Lyndon State College’s 2014 Commencement will be Sunday, May 18 at 11 a.m., under the tent on the College’s soccer field. The ceremony will also be broadcast live in the climate-controlled Alexander Twilight Theatre and on the College’s website at LyndonState.edu. Public Safety officials will be on campus all day to direct guests to available parking areas. Shuttle service and/or accommodations will be available for those unable to walk distances. For further details, please visit LyndonState.edu.