In 2007, he and his brother, Ross, were on the Isle of Man for the 100th TT (Tourist Trophy) motorcycling festival.
There's more international riding to come now he's been handed time he can call his own.
On Wednesday, his years at the trust ended - a casualty of the organisation's "realignment" after the decision to outsource investment management to a global company. He admits it's a career-ending outcome that's disappointed him, the more so that his wife Andrea Thompson, the trust's financial administrator, has also been sidelined.
But first up let's concentrate on the man himself.
Rotorua-born, Stuart's early growing up was in Kaingaroa where his father's job was forestry-based, later moving his family to Tapanui's Conical Hills Forest where Stuart began his secondary school years before returning to Rotorua and Boys' High.
"I was never a great academic, enjoyed the sporting activities much more."
His sport of choice was rowing - captaining the Boys' High squad at two Maadi Cup national regattas.
"I missed the third because I was selected for the Outward Bound course. At 17, I was the youngest on it, but it was right up my alley, I was really into outdoors stuff, tramped a lot in the Ureweras. I came out of Outward Bound the fittest I've ever been in my life."
Stuart has always retained a soft spot for the personal development skills that are Outward Bound's trademark. Seeing local youngsters financially assisted on to its courses is "up there" in his RECT years' highlights.
His outdoorsy bent was honed in the Scouts - he's one of that rare breed, a Queen's Scout.
At school he swam competitively at the Blue Baths: "I gave it away in the fifth form because I needed to put a bit more time and effort into School C [School Certificate]". He also played "a bit" of rugby.
Waikato University was in its infancy when Stuart arrived on campus, initially with the intention of completing a science degree but that changed to management studies, majoring in accountancy. Post graduation, he joined a Hamilton accountancy firm, rapidly learning that his view of accountancy was very different from the reality.
"University was theory-orientated, in the real world with inflation running at 15-16 per cent theory wasn't there."
Stuart was still a student when he married his first wife, Clare; they'd been an item since schooldays.
"We married because in those days you didn't live together."
As a married man the financial pressure was on.
"I worked the night shift at Waipa, the blokes gave me a hard time because I was the boss' son, their view was all students were long-haired, druggie louts."
Stuart won them over when he repaired one of his tormentors' Mark 2 Zephyr.
"I'm lucky enough to have a mechanical bent."
In 1979, accountancy took him to multi-national company Cooper & Lybrand's office in Vanuatu, a tax haven in the island group then known as the New Hebrides.
"It was a great ex-pat lifestyle . . . lots of sailing."
The Burns family spent three years in Honiara, Stuart developing Coopers & Lybrand's fledgling Solomon Islands practice.
"I spent a lot of time visiting forestry clients on outer islands, oversaw a million dollar liquidation, did a lot of computer consultancy work."
Recreation centred around Hash House Harriers. By the time he left he had a swag of accumulated leave.
"It was use it or lose it, we spent the next four months travelling - the Philippines, Hong Kong, through Canada in a campervan, the States' west coast."
Returning to Rotorua he became a partner in accountancy firm Erskine- Shaw & Burns, moving to a partnership with Spicer & Oppenheim. A client, the outgoing chairman of Rotorua Electricity, Jack Butterworth, suggested Stuart become an appointed trustee on the newly-formed RECT. The electricity company's government-directed sale was its financial cornerstone.
"I said 'okay, none of us know what we are getting ourselves in for'."
When nominations for chairman were called for he found himself pitted against deputy mayor the late Johnny Lepper, the result was a tie - twice.
"Johnny said 'this is ridiculous', Roma Cook [a trustee] said 'toss a coin'. Johnny said 'you're the young guy, you call', it went Johnny's way, the reality is he was a far better chairman than I'd ever have been, I was a better administrator, I'd been interim chairman, became his deputy. He switched sides to become trust's chief executive in 2006."
By then he'd married Andrea, they met at Erskine-Shaw & Burns.
"We've never had any difficulty keeping our personal and professional lives separate."
STUART BURNS
- Born: Rotorua, 1951.
- Education: Kaingaroa and
Otonga primaries, Tapanui District
High, Rotorua Boys' High.
- Family: Wife Andrea, two sons,
daughter (from previous marriage),
four grandchildren (twins
included).
- Interests: Family, motorcycling,
national and international
"Patagonia next year" travel, home
handyman, former Hash House
Harrier "now my knee's given up".
- Major trust achievement: "Not
the big projects but implementing
the operating costs grant, initially
$70,000 a year it's now $100,000
and more than 100 organisations
that are the backbone of our
community benefit."
- Personal philosophy: "Take
everything as it comes."
