BUTLER
Hugh Butler is a familiar face to many Chautauquans.
He can often be found meandering through Chautauqua’s winding paths on his bike, proudly sporting his “Shared Space” T-shirt, or crusading for various causes and organizations both in and outside of the Institution’s gates.
Now, Butler can add one more accolade to his decorated resume. This year, Butler has been nominated as the Chautauqua Property Owners Association candidate for Class B Trustee of the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees.
Having made his first trip to the grounds in 1988, Butler has been coming to Chautauqua for more than 25 years. Twenty years later, he and his wife, Marsha, made the decision to move to Chautauqua permanently and built a house on Hurst. Now serving as a year-round residence, Butler’s home has become a beacon for his family, and frequently hosts his three sons and four grandchildren for visits.
“This community of people, this place, means so much to me and my family that it’s impossible to express, except to say that we sold our house and business in Salt Lake City and moved here,” Butler said. “What more can you say than that?”
Butler received a bachelor’s degree in history from Utah State University. Later, he took graduate studies from the University of Utah in the areas of public administration and urban planning. Throughout the course of his education, Butler engaged in a number of writing and research projects regarding such topics as technology and transportation.
In terms of his career, Butler founded and became the CEO of Computer Consultants Corporation in 1977. These days, he serves as the executive director of Butler Systems Research and Design, as well as the independent director for the Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds.
Within the Institution, Butler has dedicated a great deal of time and energy to the CPOA. He served as Chautauqua’s Area 7 representative for three years, chair of the CPOA Transportation-Safety Committee going on six years, and currently is in his fourth year as CPOA president.
Looking forward to a potential role on the board of trustees, Butler is eager to put his education and career knowledge to good use. He expressed an interest to translate the CPOA’s Shared Space Initiative — a mission to enhance courtesy and awareness among travelers on Chautauqua’s grounds — into policy, as well as an interest in other strategic transportation plans.
“The needs of Chautauqua call for each of the trustees to make a contribution, and I would do that,” Butler said. “My background suggests that I could be most helpful in the planning, and particularly the transportation planning, process.”
Butler will be presented as the nominee for the board of trustees at the Chautauqua Corporation general meeting, starting at 10 a.m. Aug. 9 at the Hall of Christ.
“I am grateful to the board of directors of the CPOA for the nomination,” Butler said. “I appreciate that, and I hope those property owners who attend the general meeting feel like supporting me, too.”
The Chautauquan Daily 
