GREENSBORO, N.C. — A Triad man recently received the governor’s highest honor — the Order of the Long Leaf Pine award.

Col. Larry Burnett received it in November for his decades of work in the community, particularly with generations of kids at the Hayes-Taylor Memorial YMCA.

“I started here as a volunteer when I was a college student back in 1979,” he said.

Burnett said he then went on to serve in the military at Fort Liberty, formerly Fort Bragg, and the Pentagon, which provided him with experience that later served him when he returned to the YMCA, first on the board, then for 16 years as executive director.

“It’s all people business. It’s all how you treat people, how you motivate people, how you provide some degree of leadership and influence,” Burnett said.

Burnett retired from the “Y” last May. Now, he’s back, volunteering his time to fundraise and mentor. 

“Part of the thing is you want the place to grow. And sometimes part of that growth is that you bring in new leadership,” he said.

One of his favorite parts of his job, that he missed the most, was working with kids.

“It’s one of the things I’ve always tried to do. It’s part of my DNA to be a voice for the young people, to help them and provide resources that will help them succeed. I know when I grew up — I grew up in a rural part of North Carolina — we didn’t have a lot of resources, but I had teachers that believed in me; coaches that believed in me,” Burnett said.  “The community as a whole helped me to develop and go off to college and do things, and so what I want to do is give back to the kids that are here now, and I’m committed to doing whatever I can by giving my time, my talent and my treasure.”

Ebony Burnett is the senior association youth development director at the YMCA of Greensboro. She said she’s known Burnett for about a dozen years and calls him her “supervisor dad” who looks out for her, her family and everyone at the YMCA.

“He’s always present. He builds relationships. And the community is impacted because of the relationships he’s been able to build,” she said.

“I’m one of her biggest cheerleaders now to help her and do anything I can to mentor her and others so that they can succeed,” Burnett said.

In addition to his volunteer work at the YMCA, Burnett said he’s active in his church, the board of a bank, the Boy Scouts and Malachi House.