Albert Barnett
Long and Loyal Friend
Al Barnett was a long and loyal friend of the District, steadfast in his support of our work and dedicated in his service.
Al served for more than 25 years on the Westmoreland Conservation District board as a volunteer director.
An avid hunter and fisherman, Al represented the sportsmen to our board, a large segment of the local population with a keen interest in water quality, forest health, and other areas where conservation plays an important role. It was a long and beneficial partnership that, among other things, helped the District reach thousands of people over the years through a conservation display in the sportsmen’s tent at the Westmoreland Fair.
Al took his service on the District board very seriously, and always made an effort to attend and participate in meetings, even in later years when his health made that more difficult. In 22 years of active board service, Al’s attendance rate was more than 90%. He could always be counted on to cast his support at those meetings behind initiatives that advanced the best interests of the organization.
Al was one of the first to step up and volunteer his help when the District had a special project, whether it was painting our campus facilities or planting flowers at the courthouse.
And he was there for other community organizations as well, lending his help in various leadership roles with the Westmoreland County Sportsmen’s League, the state chapter of the National Wildlife Federation, Westmoreland Cleanways, and the American Red Cross.
Although Al never talked much about all the things that he did for our community, his briefcase told the story – it was covered in stickers from his many volunteer activities.
In 2012, when it was becoming more difficult for him to regularly participate in District activities, the board voted to name Al Director Emeritus so that he could continue to be an advisor to the board. He was only the second director in the history of the District to receive this distinction.