JOHNSON CITY, NY (WIVT/WBGH) – The local Boy Scouts Council is recognizing a community leader who returned to her hometown to help transform a local hospital system.

The Baden-Powell Council has named Lourdes President and CEO Kathy Connerton as its 2023 Broome County Distinguished Citizen Award Honoree.

Connerton was born at Lourdes Hospital, grew up in Binghamton, and got multiple degrees at SUNY Binghamton.

She worked as an attorney at Hinman Howard and Kattel and as legal counsel at Lourdes before leaving the area in 1999 to work at other hospital chains.

She returned as Lourdes CEO in 2014.

Connerton says she’s honored to join the list of past recipients.

“They all made this community an important special place. For me, it felt like my most comfortable parachute when I came home. It was home. I have lived in a lot of places. I lived in 5 or 6 cities in the course of my career, it was never home. This was home.”

An announcement was held today at Lourdes Health and Fitness, one of a number of new initiatives championed by Connerton to better meet the medical needs of area residents.

This year’s dinner is being chaired by four Matthews family brothers, Doug, Jim, John and Rob.

The Distinguished Citizen Award Dinner takes place on May 10th at the DoubleTree Hotel in Binghamton.

Tickets and information at bpcouncil.org/BroomeDCAD.