Robert Puterbaugh Receives Harrison-Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award

Monday, September 19, 2011  • News

Polk Museum of Art is pleased to announce that Robert E. “Bob” Puterbaugh of Lakeland, an attorney with Peterson & Myers, P.A., and longtime board member of the Museum, is the 2011 recipient of the Harrison-Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award. The award will be presented to Puterbaugh on Thursday, October 13, at a New Orleans-style jazz dinner held in his honor.

Raised in Lake Wales, Florida, Puterbaugh received his BBA degree in 1966 and his law degree in 1969, both from Stetson University. He was admitted to The Florida Bar in 1969 and to the U.S. Court of Military Appeals in 1970. From 1970-1973, he served as a Captain in the U.S. Army, representing the United States in various military, federal, and state courts as well as in international law and diplomatic matters in the Republic of Korea. Puterbaugh also is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States and numerous federal courts.

A senior attorney at Peterson & Myers, he is general counsel to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, Inc. Puterbaugh has been selected by his peers for inclusion in “The Best Lawyers In America” and has been named by Florida Trend to its 2011 list of Legal Elite lawyers in the State of Florida. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at Florida Southern College.

At Polk Museum of Art, he serves as legal counsel and a member of the Board of Governors. He is a past president of the Board of Trustees and a past chair of the Board of Governors. He and his wife, Malena, also have served as Gala chairs and sponsored a number of important exhibitions, including the current exhibition “Jessica Lange: In Mexico.”

“Bob epitomizes the qualities that this prestigious award recognizes based on his outstanding commitment to and leadership of the Polk Museum of Art, and his many years of continuous service,” said Dr. Anne Kerr, president of Florida Southern College and chair of the PMoA Board of Governors. The Board of Governors hosts the annual Harrison-Hooks dinner.

Puterbaugh is the 12th recipient of the Museum’s Harrison-Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award. Past recipients of the Harrison-Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award are Selma Wishnatzki, Lois Cowles Harrison and Homer Hooks, J.B. Marks, Nancye H. Thornberry, Sarah D. McKay, Patricia N. Meland, Sheryll Strang, Anne Tucker, Rosa Delfin Hernandez and Fran Williams. The award is named in honor of local philanthropists Lois Cowles Harrison and Homer Hooks.

The Harrison-Hooks Lifetime Achievement Award Banquet will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, October 13, at the Lakeland Yacht & Country Club. Individual tickets are $125 ($40 of this amount is a tax-deductible donation). Sponsor or hosted tables are available. The banquet is presented by the Polk Museum of Art Board of Governors. For tickets, or to inquire about sponsoring a table, please call 863.688.7743, ext. 240.