Cunningham: Cantwell 'Gets It'

Remarks composed and delivered by Kathleen Cunningham, Executive Director of the Village Preservation Society of East Hampton for Larry Cantwell on the occasion of his retirement party, June 9, 2013:

As Executive Director of the Village Preservation Society of East Hampton, I’m delighted to offer some remarks about Larry Cantwell.

Point of interest: His tenure as Village Administrator coincided with the birth of Village Preservation Society - 31 years ago.

We can speak all we like about how efficiently the Village runs because of Larry, or how the budget is not only balanced, but sometimes generates a surplus; or about how pleasant it is to be helped at Village Hall by Larry or his staff, but let’s face it: this job is about attending to human needs and humans beings are a messy business!

My sense is that being Village Administrator is kind of like being the Village “Dad”….with attendant whining and unreasonable requests, requiring various levels of expertise with equal amounts of vision, patience, fairness, and handholding. One must find a way to support everyone and everything: the Mayor, the Trustees, the staff and various agencies, which attend to business matters, and most importantly, the residents of the Village.

As the face of the Village for the last 3 decades, Larry has given Village residents a sense of confidence that their concerns were heard and would be addressed. He identified and initiated change where appropriate, provided direction and clarity to those in search of support for the wide range of issues, from the profound to the quotidian, which can challenge any small community, particularly with residents from all walks of life. Quite a balancing act.

He has effectively tailored the position of Village Administrator by institutionalizing best practices as he discovered them along the way in his service to the Village. That’s a really big thing – there

was no handbook when he started. And, he’s basically written the book about how to run the Village.

There are few left here whose moral fabric was woven from the warp and weft of this community, and Larry is one of them. Knowing the person at the helm had truly local roots, who really ‘gets it’ about East Hampton, was a comfort. Being of the community gave him a special connection to the community, helping to smooth over the kind of dissociation that integrating second homeowners, tourists and the workforce that serves them, can cause in many East End communities.

This takes a real knowing of the place, a truly professional perspective, fine work ethic, intuition, kindness, and good communication skills.

Larry’s service to the Village was exemplary for three reasons: he is a person of integrity, he wants to see the job done right, and he was in the unique position of being able to develop his role and adapt it to the needs of the community as it changed over time from a truly local perspective. The value of that one attribute cannot be overstated.

While it will be hard to imagine Village Hall without him, the infrastructure and smooth running engine that he created will continue to hum along as he moves on to a whole new chapter in community service.

The Village Preservation Society thanks you for your service and wishes you well in your future endeavors.

• RELATED: Cantwell Extolled for 3 Decades of Service
• RELATED: Officials, Community Celebrate Larry Cantwell