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MAG Mourns William Buckett, Former Board President

By Shirley Wersinger, MAG Editor/Graphics Coordinator

Bill BuckettWilliam Buckett, former president of the Gallery‘s Board of Managers, died on January 28, 2009. Here is an article on this long-time friend of MAG which appeared in the November-December 1996 issue of MAGazine:

Bill Buckett sees his role as MAG’s new Board president as “my opportunity to say thank you to the Gallery for many years of enjoyment and excitement.”

An award-winning graphic designer, Buckett graduated with honors from Pratt Institute in his native Brooklyn and moved to Rochester in the 1950s as art director for Case-Hoyt Corporation. He’s remained here ever since, except for a stint as a lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers.

After nearly 30 years as head of his own graphic design and advertising firm, Buckett today works as an independent design consultant and recently began teaching graphic design at RIT. He’s also an art collector, a lover of classical music, an avid gardener–and a die-hard Dodgers fan.

The Gallery is not the only institution to benefit from Buckett’s commitment to the community. His record of service includes terms as president for the Landmark Society of Western New York, the Rochester Bach Festival and Arts for Greater Rochester. Not surprisingly, he’s a strong believer in fostering collaborative efforts among area cultural institutions.

Room for Growth
As Buckett begins his term at the Gallery, he sees much to be proud of. He commends MAG’s “dedicated staff and ferocious volunteers” and adds that “with a tremendous amount of professional assistance we have become very savvy at marketing ourselves.” Yet he still sees room for growth as the Gallery begins planning
for the year 2000.

“I’d like to revise the closing statement of the AAM report,” he says, referring to the glowing reaccreditation report by the American Association of Museums. “Instead of ‘don’t change a thing’–let’s make it even better.”

Editor’s note: Bill switched allegiance in his later years to the Boston Red Sox.

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