By Cathy McKenzie, WSU Mount Vernon
MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – Administrative manager Jeanne Burritt recently was honored for 20 years of service to a national association of employees who help their institutions and agencies gain access to excess U.S. government-owned equipment.
She is past secretary and has been treasurer for six years of the Users and Screeners Association – Federal Excess Personal Property, Inc.
Acquiring federal excess personal property on loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Federal Excess Personal Property program benefits WSU and its Mount Vernon research programs, Burritt said.
“Our researchers can acquire farm machinery, microscopes and other research-related equipment this way rather than purchasing those items outright, so they save money for their research programs,” she said.
“WSU benefits greatly from this program, and a big part of the reason for that is the work that Jeanne does,” said Steve Jones, WSU Mount Vernon Research Center director.
“It’s really a great opportunity to interact with other people who deal with excess property in their organizations,” Burritt said of her volunteer work with the association. “It broadens my knowledge and helps me find better ways for dealing with federal excess personal property here at WSU Mount Vernon.”
Burritt joined the association in the 1990s when acquiring excess property for the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine and the WSU Business Office in Pullman.
When she moved to the WSU Mount Vernon Research Center in 2007, she implemented the program. She organized the annual conference last summer at WSU Mount Vernon and has begun planning for next year’s conference, which will be at the University of Florida in Gainesville.
More information about the association can be found at http://www.usa-fepp.org/Home_Page.html.
Contacts:
Jeanne Burritt, WSU Mount Vernon, 360-848-6123, jburritt@wsu.edu
Steve Jones, WSU Mount Vernon, 360-416-5210, joness@wsu.edu