Our people: Mayor, president, Eagle

My name is H. Carl Burnett. I am a retired technical specialist after 32 years with Xcel Energy. I've been married to my wife Sylvia for 35 years and we have two adult daughters, Gina and Melanie. I have held several offices with the Fraternal Order of Eagles during my 35-plus years with the organization and was most recently named Grand Worthy President at the 2018 International Convention in Dallas. These days I like to spend the majority of my free time traveling.

What's an accomplishment you're proud of?

I am extremely proud of having served as the mayor of Sudan, where I learned that leadership is about being willing to make tough decisions that are necessary, but maybe not always popular, for the betterment of the community.

I'm also proud to serve this year as Grand Worthy President of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, leading an organization of more than 650,000 members, who are committed to helping others. As we always say, we're "People Helping People."

How did you meet your spouse?

My wife Sylvia was a member of the Fraternal Order of Eagles in Clovis and we were friends first. Eventually, it turned into something wonderful and we're happy to still be celebrating now as we travel around the country for the FOE.

How would you like to be remembered?

In my life, I've worked for the fire department, EMS, and now on behalf of the Eagles. My life has been centered around helping others and I hope I'm remembered as a man who always did what he could to help others live better lives.

What's your idea of a perfect day?

My idea of a perfect day would be traveling with Sylvia and meeting new people while we raise money for charity and promote the Fraternal Order of Eagles.

What's the best gift you've ever given? Received?

The best gift I've ever given was to be able to tell the folks at Metavivor, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to metastatic breast cancer research, that they would be selected as my charity for my year as Grand Worthy President. They do phenomenal work and to be able to help them with a significant donation this year is truly a blessing.

The greatest gift I've received was the ability to attend Metavivor's March for Awareness in Washington, D.C. last October. I was honored to meet the amazing men and women who stand strongly behind Metavivor in hopes of finding a cure for their debilitating illness. To see in person how much our fundraising efforts meant to them was inspiring and has made me work even harder to raise funds on their behalf.

If money were no object, what would you do to make eastern New Mexico a better place?

I would help make everyone see what a difference we can make when we help each other. Nobody knows what eastern New Mexico needs better than the people of eastern New Mexico and when we step up to the plate and help each other out, it makes a world of difference. Giving back is the most rewarding thing you can do and in a time when so many people choose to turn a blind eye toward other people's problems, we should be doing whatever we can to help those people and make our community stronger as a whole.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

I always wanted to be a police officer. As a child, you see the impact police officers can have on a community. They attend community events and meet kids, promote safe programs and generally strive to help make our neighborhoods better places to live. That kind of work made me want to do better from a young age.

What do you collect?

I collect ball caps. Right now, I probably have a few hundred. I wear a few and others are mostly just for show but I have a lot of Fraternal Order of Eagles caps I collect during my travels.

What is your theme song?

"You'll Never Walk Alone" Jerry Lewis always used to sing this song at the end of his Labor Day telethon and to me, it's always been representative of helping others and providing strength for those in need.

If you could have a super power, what would it be and why?

My superpower would be to heal all sickness. There are so many wonderful people in this world whose lives are struck tragically short due to illnesses we still can't seem to find a cure for. I saw firsthand with the women I met through Metavivor that there are so many individuals with the spirit to truly inspire change and I would love to have the power to ensure those people could continue to make a difference in the lives of others.

- Compiled by Staff Writer Jamie Cushman