Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award, Past Recipients

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Lawrence J. Baker CNY RPDB's 2018 Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award Recipient

Lawrence J. Baker (left) receives the CNY RPDB's Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award from Board Chairman James J. Murphy, Jr., at the Board's 2018 Annual Meeting

Lawrence J. Baker was named the recipient of the 32^nd annual Rhea Eckel Clark Citizenship Award at the Central New York Regional Planning and Development Board’s annual meeting held on October 24, 2018.

Mr. Baker is a life-long resident of Upstate New York and has been a figure in the Hamilton community in Madison County for many years. He graduated with B.S. and M.S. degrees in Business Education from SUNY Albany and completed additional graduate work in Higher Education and Administration. After serving on the business faculty at Holland Central School, Mr. Baker served in numerous academic and administrative positions at Morrisville Agriculture and Technical College including Dean of the Business Division, Vice President for Administration, and Acting President. Following a brief period of retirement, Mr. Baker returned to academic life and served as the Assistant to the President for Special Projects at SUNY Morrisville from 1991-2004 and subsequently as a member of the Morrisville State College President’s Council and the Morrisville College Foundation.

In addition to his professional career, Mr. Baker has been very active over the years with a full range of activities and service to his community. Among his many engagements, both past and present, were terms of office as a Village Trustee and Mayor of the Village of Hamilton, member of the Hamilton Municipal Utilities Commission, member of the board of directors of Community Memorial Hospital in Hamilton, and he is a long-time member of the CNY RPDB. Among his many achievements, Mr. Baker was presented with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service, the Mohawk Valley Outstanding Alumnus Award, the Morrisville State College Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Village of Hamilton Civic Award.

Past Recipients