Rogers Rotary has always been blessed to have citizens who have stepped forward to make the community a better place to live. This year Rogers Rotary will again recognize another one of our citizens with our Dick Daniel Distinguished Citizen Award. The Dick Daniel Distinguished Citizen Award recognizes and honors individuals who strive toward the highest level of community involvement, influence, and dedication of time and energies toward making our community a better place to live.
Distinguished citizen nominees must meet each of these three specific criteria: 1. Demonstrated excellence, creativity and initiative in improving the community. 2. Provided valuable service by devoting time and energy to improving the quality of life for others in the community. 3. Assisted others in developing and utilizing their full leadership potential in the community.
According to the Rogers Noon Rotary Club, Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Raymond Burns more than meets the criteria for the award and Rotary is excited to recognize him as the outstanding leader he is.
Burns will be recognized at the 7th Annual Dick Daniel Distinguished Citizen Award Luncheon on August 2 at the Embassy Suites in Rogers. Rogers Rotary Foundation will use proceeds from the event to provide funding for The Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County (CAC). The CAC provides a safe place for child abuse victims and their families to receive comprehensive services from dedicated professionals in a child-friendly atmosphere through a coordinated team approach.
More About Raymond Burns
The Chamber has been working quietly behind the scenes to get things done for over 100 years. For the last 35 years, so has Raymond Burns. His servant leadership and authentic passion for his community has built a legacy of success. He lives for helping other people be successful. It's who he is.
Raymond has helped to create a Chamber with a proud history of representing business unapologetically, convening community leaders to do great things, and being a catalyst for influencing positive change and responsible growth. Many have been with him on this journey.
Industry peers from across the nation respect him. His influence spans far outside of the Northwest Arkansas region. He's a trusted advisor and confidant to many. Raymond is proud to be one of 275 Certified Chamber Executives in the nation. Under his helm, the Rogers-Lowell Area Chamber of Commerce has become a Five-Star Accredited Chamber, the highest certification of quality available in the industry. The best of the best. In fact, only 132 of 7,022 chambers have earned this honor.
He's actively involved with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, serving on the Chamber of Commerce Committee of 100 and the Accreditation Board. He is past chairman of the SMU Institute for Organizational Management, the profession’s leading training program for Chamber professionals. He is also a past chairman of the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Certified Chamber Executive (CCE) Commission and past chairman of the Arkansas Chamber of Commerce Executives and the Arkansas Economic Developers. He served an 8-year term as a board member of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport Authority.
Raymond currently serves on the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce Board and Executive Committee, and the Northwest Arkansas Council Executive Committee. He's a member of Rotary International and a member of Central United Methodist Church of Rogers.
He is married to his wife Katie, has two children, and three grandchildren.
Congratulations Raymond, and thank you for all you have done and are doing to make our community a great place to not only live, but also to visit, work, invest and play!
About Rogers Noon Rotary Club
The Club was founded on April 1, 1917 on the concept of community service, and just celebrated their 100th birthday. The Rogers Rotary Club served the community as the Chamber of Commerce from 1917-1922 and sponsored the organization of the formal Chamber of Commerce in 1923. The Club is comprised of business leaders, educators, religious leaders, lawmakers, non-profit executives, and other civic-minded citizens who are interested in making a difference in the community in which we live. Above all, we are men and women who have the time and resources to commit to Rotary and its objective of “Service Above Self.”
