ROCKPORT — Frank Burtnett, counselor, consultant, educator, and author, died suddenly on August 23 in Rockport, Maine. He was born December 25, 1940, in Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania, and considered Springfield, Virginia, his legal residence but was happiest at his home overlooking Rockport Harbor in Rockport, Maine. 

After attending local public and parochial schools in his hometown, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education at Shippensburg University (PA) and the Master of Arts and Doctor of Education degree in professional counseling at George Washington University (DC). 

During his early career, he served as a teacher, counselor, and student services director in the Fairfax County, Virginia, schools and as a state counseling supervisor with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Later he became engaged in professional association work, including positions as Executive Director of the National Association for College Admission Counseling and Associate Executive Director of the American Counseling Association. Eventually, he formed an independent consulting practice, Education Now, which focused on helping institutions, organizations, and businesses design and improve educational and career development programs and services. 

Frank was the recipient of numerous awards and honors over his life and career, including the Shippensburg University Jesse B. Heiges Distinguished Alumnus Award, Frank was most proud of being named a Fellow of the American Counseling Association in 2016 in recognition of his contributions to the counseling profession. The National Association of Personnel Services (NAPS) honored his quarter century of service to that organization by naming him to their Hall of Fame and by creating the Frank Burtnett Education Scholarship to support the certification and educational experiences of emerging members of the search and staffing profession. He was as proud of those recognitions as he was of achieving the rank of Eagle Scout at the age of fifteen. 

Frank had a special interest in preparing future generations of counselors and served on various metropolitan Washington graduate school counselor education faculties, including a long affiliation with the counselor education program in the School of Health and Education at Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia. 

Since the beginning of the millennium, Frank has written three books designed to address career and educational issues: Bound-for-College Guidebook, Bound-for-Career Guidebook, and Career Challenges: Straight Talk about Achieving Success in The Technology-Driven Post-COVID World of Work. His fourth book, Navigating the Senior Years, which I believe is his best effort, focuses on the challenges of entering into and passing through the senior stages of the life span and offers a series of strategies to negotiate those transitions. He was in the process of finding an editor when he passed. 

Frank was the creator and editor of monthly Internet-driven newsletters designed for members of the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Personnel Services, and the subscribers of Employment Marketplace Information. 

His survivors include his wife and "adventure partner" of 62 years, Susan; two children, son Kevin Burtnett and his wife Brenda Figura Burtnett of Oakton, Virginia; and daughter Kimberly and her husband Robert Cumbie of Atlanta, Georgia. His grandchildren Jack, Alexandra, and Will brought him incredible joy, and he always loved hearing of their personal achievements and adventures. 

At Frank's request, a celebration and coming together of family and friends will take place at the Springfield Country Club in Springfield, Virginia, on November 16. Contributions to the American Counseling Association Foundation are welcomed in the memory of Dr. Frank Burtnett. American Counseling Association, 6101 Stevenson Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22304. 

Condolences may be shared at www.longfuneralhomecamden.com. 

Arrangements are with Long Funeral Home, 9 Mountain Street, Camden, ME.