About Us

Maxine H. Burton
President and Founder
burton + BURTON™

Since 1982, as Founder and President of burton + BURTON™ (formerly known as Flowers, Inc. Balloons / Burton and Burton), Maxine Burton has established her company as a leader in the balloon and gift industry. Based on her idea that a balloon could be a greeting card, Maxine was instrumental in the development of balloon use throughout the floral industry. Through her diligence, burton + BURTON™ has become the largest supplier of balloons and related gift items in the United States, employing over three hundred and fifty employees with customers nationwide and in over ninety countries. In 2000, Maxine successfully expanded her product line to include home décor accessories.

Maxine has received numerous local and national awards recognizing her as a leader in industry and in service to her community. In May, 2008, burton + BURTON was awarded the Georgia Family Business of the Year in the large business category by the Cox Family Enterprise Center. In June, 2006, Maxine and her husband, Bob, were awarded the Ruby C. McSwain Outstanding Philanthropist Award by the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association for their continuing and unwavering support of numerous philanthropic organizations. In 2005, the Burtons were awarded the Allan J. McDonald International Entrepreneur Award by the Society of International Business Fellows in honor their outstanding international entrepreneurial efforts and success. In 2004, the Georgia 4-H Foundation named the Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island in honor of the Burtons for their continuing generosity and support of the Georgia 4-H Program. The Gift Basket Exchange Network (an association of gift basket professionals, suppliers, and related businesses throughout the world) named Flowers, Inc. Balloons as top supplier in the gift basket trade and awarded the company "Best of the Industry" for 2002. Maxine was named Outstanding Georgia Citizen by Secretary of State Cathy Cox in 2002; was honored by the Star Group as a Leading Woman Entrepreneur of the World in 2002; was named Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year for 2001, Retail/Wholesale category, Southeast Division; was appointed Lieutenant Colonel, Aide de Camp, Governor’s Staff by Governor Roy Barnes (1999); was honored by the Beta Gamma Sigma Chapter of the University of Georgia for her entrepreneurial success in 1995; was named a Distinguished Lecturer/Practitioner for the University of Georgia’s Terry College of Business, serving from 1994-96; received the Crystal Award from the International Balloon Arts Convention (1993); received the National Marketing Award from Florists' Review magazine (1991), received the Athena Award for outstanding female achievement in the Athens area (1990); was named Small Business Person of the Year by the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce (1989), and received the Georgia Industrial Development Association’s Spirit of Georgia Award, recognizing the individual who best epitomizes the entrepreneurial spirit (1989).

Maxine maintains an active role in the community by serving on numerous civic and charitable boards, economic development committees, community development organizations, and is active in many professional organizations. Maxine is an active member of the Committee of 200, the Society of International Business Fellows (Class of 1999), the Women’s Leadership Board of Harvard Business School, and the Development Authority of the Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County Georgia. Maxine has been appointed and re-appointed by the Governor of Georgia to the Georgia Ports Authority, currently serving as Chairman of the Administration Committee and as a member of the Trade Development Committee and the Ports Development Committee. In July, 2006, Maxine was elected as Trustee and member of the board of directors for the University of Georgia Arch Foundation. In July 2004, she was appointed to be a member of the Executive Committee for the University of Georgia Alumni Association, serving a one year term, and is currently a member of the Board of Directors for First American Bank and Trust. Maxine serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation, and is a founding member of the Board of Directors for One Georgia Bank. Maxine has been actively involved in Leadership Athens (Class of 1991), Leadership Georgia (Class of 1992), St. Mary’s Hospice Professional Advisory Committee 1991-94, Athens Junior League Taylor-Grady House Advisory Committee 1991-92, Administrative Management Society 1990-91, the Darlington School Board of Trustees and Board of Visitors, 1995-02; Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, 1990-91, the University of Georgia’s President’s Club, is a charter board member of the Athens Symphony and a member of the Friends of the Museum for the Georgia Museum of Art.

Maxine attended Gainesville College, later transferring to the University of Georgia where she earned a Bachelors in Science and a Masters in Education and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta sorority. Maxine has continued her education at Harvard Business School, taking executive courses in 1998 and 2001.

Maxine is married to Robert E. Burton, Chief Executive Officer of burton + BURTON. They have two grown children, Rachael Burton Dillon and Michael Burton, and two grandchildren, Robert Burton Dillon and Ella Louise Dillon. The Burtons reside in Athens, Georgia.

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Robert E. Burton
Chief Executive Officer
burton + BURTON™

Bob Burton has helped build burton + Burton, formerly Flowers, Inc. Balloons, into an industry leader. His analytical and organizational skills have helped bring the company to its present level as the largest supplier of balloons and related gift items in the United States with a full time staff of over three hundred and fifty employees.

He is an active member of the business community and holds several leadership positions. He is a graduate of Leadership Athens and has served on the Leadership Athens Steering Committee. He has served on the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is a member of Society of International Business Fellows. He is a founder and director of the founders of National Bank of Georgia.

His civic commitments are many. Bob has served on the Board of Directors for:

Bob was the 2006 recipient of The William E. "Billy" Hudson Distinguished Citizen Award given by the Northeast Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts of America. In June, 2006, Bob and his wife, Maxine, were awarded the Ruby C. McSwain Outstanding Philanthropist Award by the National Agricultural Alumni and Development Association for their continuing and unwavering support of numerous philanthropic organizations. In 2005, the Burtons were awarded the Allan J. McDonald International Entrepreneur Award by the Society of International Business Fellows in honor their outstanding international entrepreneurial efforts and success. In 2004, the Georgia 4-H Foundation named the Burton 4-H Center on Tybee Island in honor of Bob and his wife, Maxine, for their continuing generosity and support of the Georgia 4-H Program.

Bob graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture where he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity and the UGA Agronomy Club. He has been honored with the Alpha Gamma Rho Award for Outstanding Alumni in his Field and is a member of the University of Georgia President’s Club. He has also served on the Third Century Advisory Council for the College of Agriculture and Environmental Science at the University of Georgia.

In the balloon field, Bob has been honored with the 1990 Outstanding Service Award from the National Balloon Artists Association and the 1991 National Marketing Award from Florists’ Review magazine. He is a charter member of the National Balloon Artists Association and the International Balloon Association. He has also served as the National Distributors Representative for the Balloon Council.

In June 2001, Bob and Maxine, President of burton + BURTON, were honored as Regional Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of the Year at the Alabama, Georgia, and Tennessee Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Gala. The Burtons were also honored in 2005 by the Society of International Business Fellows as the recipients of the Allan J. McDonald International Entrepreneurs of the Year Award.

The Burtons reside in Athens, Georgia and have two grown children, Rachael Burton Dillon and Michael Burton, and two grandchildren, Robert Burton Dillon and Ella Louise Dillon.