Patriots Point Development Authority’s Executive Director To Retire June 30
Patriots Point Development Authority (PPDA) announced today that executive director Mac Burdette will retire effective June 30, 2019. The state agency’s Board of Directors has formed a committee to immediately begin the selection process for Burdette’s successor.
Burdette has served as executive director of PPDA for nine years. The agency manages 460 acres of state-owned land and the Patriots Point Naval & Maritime Museum, home to historic Navy vessels USS Yorktown, USS Laffey and USS Clamagore. Under Burdette’s leadership, the agency and its board of directors drafted a long-term business plan that resulted in record-breaking attendance at the museum in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 and negotiated a 99-year lease to govern the future development of 60-acres of land that will fund the restoration of Patriots Point’s aging warships for future generations.
“It has been one of the greatest honors and privileges of my life to have served this great institution that has touched the lives of millions,” Burdette said. “I am exceedingly proud and appreciative of all of the employees and volunteers with whom I have served these past nine years. They are among the finest individuals I have known.”
Before assuming the duties of executive director at Patriots Point, Burdette served for 25 years as the city administrator for the Town of Mount Pleasant. In 2003, he retired from the U.S. Army Reserves as a Colonel. During the Persian Gulf War, he served in Southwest Asia.
“It is bittersweet news to learn that Mac Burdette has decided to retire. Mac is one of the most gifted men I have ever met,” said PPDA Board Chairman Ray Chandler. “He has given Patriots Point all of his immense energy and talent. We have been the beneficiaries of his unparalleled experience in business and government. We wish him every good thing in retirement.”
Since Burdette was selected to lead Patriots Point in 2010, the museum has opened several significant exhibits that use the latest audio and video technology to honor veterans and educate visitors about military history. Those exhibits include among others, the three-acre Vietnam Experience, the USS Laffey Combat Information Center and the first phase of the USS Yorktown’s Engine Room Experience. In the last nine years, Patriots Point has offered more than 70 free community symposiums has become an official Department of Defense partner for the ongoing commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War.