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Virginia C apitol C onnections, Fall 2014 5
Richmond, VA—Martin “Tutti” Townes, the Head Butler at the
Executive Mansion, was recently presented the 2014 “Unsung Hero”
award during the 10th Annual Excellence in Virginia Government
awards ceremony.
Sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas
Wilder School of Government and PublicAffairs, Excellence inVirginia
Government is an annual awards program that recognizes individuals
or teams for their contributions to government and the well being of
the Commonwealth’s communities and citizens. Townes, a Department
of General Services employee, was among seven Virginians who were
honored during an awards luncheon at the Richmond Marriott.
Townes was recognized for his 30 years of service tending to the
needs of nine governors and their families. Townes said his job is to
make life easier on the first family, whether it’s preparing the Mansion
for events big and small, helping the family pack for trips, or making
sure it feels like home from the moment they first walk in following the
governor’s inauguration.
“If you can’t make their life easier and happier, then you aren’t
doing your job,” Townes said. “I’m no hero at all. I just do my job and I
try to stay out of the limelight. The governor’s the one who’s supposed
to be out front, not me. I’m happy to stay in the shadows.”
Whether it’s hosting an event or making sure a leak or a washing
machine gets fixed, Townes is ready for anything that can happen in the
200-year-old working residence. Townes speaks fondly of the present
and former residents of the Mansion, especially the children he’s had a
hand in raising over the past three decades. He still calls many of them
on their birthdays.
The Mansion plays a special role in Townes’ family, as well.
His mother was a cook at the historic estate, his step-father served
as a butler, his brother was a butler and cook, and Townes even met
his wife, a former housekeeper, there during the administration of
L. Douglas Wilder. When Virginia welcomed Queen Elizabeth II in
2007, Townes prepared the Executive Mansion just as his stepfather
had done for her visit 50 years earlier.
Townes is the first and last person most visitors encounter at
the Executive Mansion. While the position has given him the
opportunity to meet plenty of political and Hollywood stars—from
Presidents Barack Obama and George H.W. Bush, to former South
African President Nelson Mandela, civil rights leader Coretta Scott
King and his favorite childhood actor, James Garner—he said they
are treated no differently than any other citizen who walks through
the Mansion’s double doors.
“Everybody’s a dignitary when they come here,” Townes said.
The Executive Mansion is the oldest continuously occupied
gubernatorial residence in the nation. It has been home to 55
governors since 1813. The Mansion is maintained and operated by
the Department of General Services.
“I’m pleased VCU chose to shine a light on Tutti for his many
years of dedicated service,” said Joe Damico, Deputy Director of
the Department of General Services. “Tutti exemplifies the spirit of
all DGS employees who work behind the scenes every day to keep
government running smoothly.”
Martin “Tutti” Townes is shown in front of the Executive Mansion, where he serves as Head Butler, on Thursday, October 23, 2014. Townes received the 2014
“Unsung Hero” award during the 10th Annual Excellence in Virginia Government awards ceremony to honor his 30 years of service to nine different Virginia
governors and their families.
Executive
Mansion Butler
Martin “Tutti”
Townes Receives
“Unsung Hero”
Award
Honor part of VCU’s
Excellence in
Virginia Government
awards program
reached the expiration of his term, her colleagues on the court
selected her to become the new chief in 2011. She became the first
woman chief justice on February 1, 2011.
Early this past summer, after 16 years on Virginia’s high court,
Chief Justice Kinser announced that she will retire this year. She has
now set her last day as Dec. 31, 2014.
It has been many years since she prepared those award-winning
carrot curls, but she will now have time to pursue such interests again.
She said she looks forward to family time, travel time, and studying
the fine art of growing superior grass. She is very excited about
getting back to her (please forgive us) roots.
And she will maintain her passion for law. She wants to serve the
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practice of law in some way. She said she doesn’t know what form
that may take. It could be mediation, or working with the Virginia
Access to Justice Commission, or through some other contribution to
the law. She is also passionate about the teaching of civics to people
of all ages.
At the age of 62, Kinser is young enough, and apparently healthy
enough, to do many things, and she has much to give. She has made
the best better. And true to her 4-H motto, she will continue to do so.
Bonnie Atwood, a freelance writer with Tall Poppies Freelance
Writing LLC, is the winner of 24 national and state writing awards,
and represents legislative clients with David Bailey Associates. She
can be reached at V
V