Neale Lunderville named 2021 Rising Stars Alumnus of the Year
Neale F Lunderville, President and CEO of VGS (Vermont Gas), northwest Vermont’s energy services company, has been awarded the Rising Stars Alumni of the Year Award. The Alumni Award was started in 2019 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the VBM Rising Stars Award which began in 2010.
“Neale is an outstanding choice for this award,” according to John Boutin, Publisher of Vermont Business Magazine. “When we started this awards program back in 2010, we wanted to highlight the great young leaders we have here in Vermont and to date we have honored over 481 individuals,” said Boutin. “These young people are recognized each year for what they bring to their places of employment as well as their communities and Neale has gone above and beyond since first receiving this award in 2012,” said Boutin.
Neale was recognized as a Rising Star back in 2012. At the time he was the CEO and co-founder of NG Advantage in Milton, VT, a natural gas distribution company.
Prior to winning the award in 2012, Neale’s career highlights included Secretary of Civil & Military Affairs, Secretary of Transportation and Secretary of Administration in Governor Jim Douglas’s administration. He served as the Irene Recovery Officer for Governor Peter Shumlin, leading and coordinating recovery from the state’s worst natural disaster since the floods of 1927 and was the Leader for Enterprise Innovation for Green Mountain Power.
Prior to joining the team at VGS, Neale had served as General Manager of the Burlington Electric Department, where he worked closely with Mayor Miro Weinberger to advance the community’s efforts to become a Net Zero Energy City.
“I am honored to be named the Alumnus of the Year and to celebrate the Class of 2021 Rising Stars. This year’s Stars are already leaders in our community and making an outsized impact in our beloved state. I am humbled to be recognized alongside such great company,” Neale said.
Neale serves on the boards of Preservation Trust of Vermont, Vermont Journalism Trust (VTDigger), Energy Action Network (EAN), Champlain College, and Bolton Valley Resort. He serves as Co-Chair of EAN’s Weatherization at Scale Network Action Team, as well as a member of the Vermont Council on Rural Development’s Climate Economy and Future of Vermont action teams. Neale is proud to serve as an Honorary Commander of the Vermont Air National Guard.
He graduated from American University in Washington, DC, and was given their 2012 Alumni Achievement award. Neale lives in South Burlington with his better half, Dennise Casey, and their two amazing dogs, Molly and Otis.
Looking back to 2012, let’s see how Neale answered some of the questions our current winners from the Class of 2021 did this year.
Who is your living hero: All of our nation's veterans. We can never take for granted their courage and sacrifice to protect our liberty.
Favorite downtime activity: Anything outdoors: hiking, running, biking, snowshoeing, skiing depending on the season.
Favorite Vermont Escape: On top of Camel's Hump or anywhere in the Northeast Kingdom.
Favorite social network: The kind that is completely analog.
Favorite website: I follow bike racing at www.steephill.tv. It's a perfect escape.
Vermont Business Person you would most want to network with: I am particularly interested in the food movement in Vermont and am always interested to meet the people who are responsible for growing the amazing food we enjoy here.
Nicole Ravlin, president of Junapr was the first recipient of the Rising Stars Alumni Award in 2019 and Dan Smith, President and CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation was named Rising Stars Alumni of the Year in 2020.