[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 153 (Thursday, September 22, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E967-E968]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING MR. LANDON VICTOR BUTLER

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 22, 2022

  Mr. BURGESS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize a man whose 
philanthropy and dedication to the Washington, D.C. community is an 
admirable example of a life of service.
  On October 3, 2022, Mr. Landon Victor Butler will be honored by the 
Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) with the company's 2022 Sidney Harman 
Award for Philanthropy in the Arts, recognizing his exceptional support 
for the theater--and Washington, D.C. at large--over the past four 
decades. One of the nation's leading arts organizations, the Tony 
Award-winning Shakespeare Theatre Company is synonymous with dramatic 
excellence and devoted to making classical theater more accessible, 
both on a local and national level. Mr. Butler has played a dedicated 
and pivotal role in achieving their goals, as well as the goals of many 
other honorable efforts, by utilizing his many years of public service 
to collaborate with business, government, and arts organizations for 
the betterment of his city, his region, and his country.
  Mr. Butler has served on STC's Board of Trustees since 1997, serving 
a decade as Chairman. During his tenure as Chair, Mr. Butler helped 
oversee the planning, construction, and opening of the theater's state-
of-the-art Sidney Harman Hall in 2007. He also spearheaded the creation 
of District Shakespeare, an ambitious arts education program that 
invites every Washington, D.C. public high school student to experience 
at least one live classical theater performance before graduation.
  A native of Memphis, TN and an Officer in the US Marine Corps who 
proudly served his country for three years during the Vietnam War, Mr. 
Butler started his career building affordable housing in the Atlanta 
area in the early 1970's. During this time, he became centrally 
involved in Governor Jimmy Carter's presidential campaign, and he has 
been an active part of the D.C. community since arriving here for the 
inauguration of President Carter in 1977. As President Carter's Deputy 
Chief of Staff, he facilitated communications across a broad array of 
Administration-wide task forces that were formed to support Carter-
Mondale initiatives, playing lead roles in the Panama Canal Treaty and 
SALT II ratification efforts. In 1981, Mr. Butler co-founded the Multi-
Employer Property Trust, one of the nation's largest commercial real 
estate commingled funds, serving U.S., Canadian and European pension 
plans. He was also a founder of the first private venture capital fund 
in eastern Europe following the collapse of the Soviet Union, and he 
served as President of the investor relations firm Landon Butler and 
Company until his retirement in 2010.

[[Page E968]]

  A proud graduate of Washington & Lee University and Harvard Business 
School, Mr. Butler has spent a lifetime in service to his community, 
admirably leveraging his strengths in business, government, and non-
profit organizations to improve countless facets of life in the 
Washington, D.C. region and beyond. In addition to his tireless 
dedication to the Shakespeare Theatre Company and arts education, Mr. 
Butler has also devoted his time and attention to many other 
philanthropic efforts, most notably as a founder of Integrity 
Initiatives International (the leading advocate for the creation of an 
International Anti-Corruption Court) and as a director on the Board of 
the Piedmont Journalism Foundation (a Virginia non-profit organization, 
with the mission of providing nonpartisan in-depth news coverage of 
important local issues).
  An avid western horseman with multiple Quarter Horse Competition 
ribbons and buckles to his name, Mr. Butler is also a faithful 
conservationist, with over 20 years commitment to protecting ranching 
lands and traditions in West Texas alone. In partnership with Texas' 
legendary horseman and rancher Mr. Buster Welch, Mr. Butler and two 
lifelong friends, Mr. Henry Turley and Mr. Meredith McCullar, worked 
together to protect 25,000 acres of prime West Texas cow country called 
the Double Mountain River Ranch, near Rotan, TX. Their shared love of 
land stewardship enabled Mr. Welch to further practice his celebrated 
reverence for and expertise in time-honored and proven ranching 
traditions. Mr. Welch, who is in the National Cutting Horse Association 
(NCHA) Riders Hall of Fame, NCHA Members Hall of Fame and American 
Quarter Horse Association (AQHA) Hall of Fame, and Texas Cowboy Hall of 
Fame, was a four-time NCHA World Champion and won the NCHA Futurity a 
record five times. In July of this year, Mr. Butler, Mr. Turley, and 
Mr. McCullar established the Texas Tech University ``Buster and Sheila 
Welch Excellence in Conservation of Natural Resources Scholarship 
Endowment,'' in memory of the legendary Texas horseman and his wife.
  Long before he discovered the beauty of Texas horse country, Mr. 
Butler was instrumental in protecting the treasured Cumberland Island, 
off the coast of Georgia, working with a team of dedicated 
preservationists to facilitate the creation of the Cumberland Island 
National Seashore in the early 1970s. This effort not only protected 
the island's pristine land and historic landmarks from encroaching 
development, but also created public access to its beauty. More 
recently, Mr. Butler has dedicated his energy to land conservation in 
Virginia horse country, working to celebrate and preserve the area's 
land, arts, and other traditions as a tireless leader in various 
community initiatives and organizations, including the National 
Sporting Library & Museum in Middleburg, VA.
  At the gala honoring Mr. Butler's contribution to the Shakespeare 
Theatre Company and Philanthropy in the Arts, he will be joined by his 
proud family, including his wife of 32 years Carol, and his four 
children: Margaret (Marcy) Butler (husband Ryan Compton), Jamie Butler 
(wife Carolyn Kleiner Butler), Headley Butler (wife Noa Gimelli), and 
Sarah Stettinius (husband Ted Stettinius).
  Madam Speaker, Mr. Butler has shown unwavering leadership throughout 
his life in dedication to his country and numerous philanthropic 
endeavors, and his service to his country is a testament to his 
character and generosity. Landon Butler's consistent and tireless 
commitment to his community and his values embodies the very spirit of 
service and today I ask that we celebrate this fine citizen of our 
country. I congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition and thank 
him for his contributions to the betterment of his fellow citizens.

                          ____________________