Few of us perform work that will last through generations; even fewer receive recognition for it. Peter Burnett of the Loudoun County Bar is one of those fortunate few to accomplish both. At this year's Annual Meeting, the Conference of Local Bars recognized Burnett for his outstanding work with the Loudoun County Bar's Courthouse Project, and presented him with 1997-98 Local Bar Leader of the Year award.
The Courthouse Planning Committee, with Burnett as its chair, was created in 1996 in response to a request from then Chief Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne. Judge Horne asked the bar to evaluate the existing court facilities and suggest improvements. With a process that involved the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, the judiciary, members of the public and the bar, it was, in the words of Rhonda Wilson Paice, Loudoun County Bar President, difficult to describe the atmosphere within which the various interest groups operated during the initial phase of the project. "Many times during the process, brick walls were erected about financing, location of facilities, voter approval, space needs and architect selection. Each time it appeared that a new courthouse would be waylaid by inaction or the political process. Each time, it was Peter's committee that fought to get the project back on track. But even more than the committee, it was Peter himself."
Burnett attended every meeting even remotely related to the courthouse project, helped to educate the public about the need for a new facility, and spent countless hours educating himself about the process of building a structure to last a lifetime and beyond. Tangible proof of Burnett's efforts is the extensive report that he researched and compiled entitled, "Acceptable Courts-Today and Tomorrow." Largely through his efforts, Loudoun County is the only jurisdiction of its kind to follow the federal government's Design Excellence Model in the planning and design of its courthouse.
In a fitting tribute, former Loudoun County Bar president Lewis Gelobter
said of Burnett, "Our bar association and the citizens of Loudoun County
will benefit from his current efforts to ensure that their tax dollars are
spent wisely, and will continue to benefit from his efforts for years to
come when the new courthouse is completed in 1999 or 2000."