Burke Foundation Service Continues

09/15/2009

Kelly & Bethany Burke

Kelly Burke has been a mainstay on the Northwest Florida State College Foundation Board of Directors for the past 15 years. The retired Air Force Lt. General was appointed to the Foundations Board in 1994 when the college was still known as Okaloosa-Walton Community College. Putting action to his service to the Foundation and its mission, Burke and his family established the college's largest scholarship endowment and have supported more than 200 students with scholarship support.

Now, Burke's role on the board has come to an end that is also a new beginning. Burke has resigned from his active position on the board and his daughter Bethany Burke will fill out his term of service. Burke noted that "his affection and admiration of the college remains as strong as ever" but that he believed the college and foundation would be "better served by a younger and more active member."

College interim president Dr. Jill White praised Burke and his family for the "immeasurable positive impact they have had on the lives of so many students" and noted that both the Foundation Board and the college's board of trustees have approved Bethany's service as a Foundation Board member. Bethany Burke holds a BA from Auburn University and an MA from Texas State University and has a 30 year career with Delta Air Lines as an international flight attendant.

Introduced to the college foundation by retired OWCC employee, Bill Hall, who was paired with Burke in a local golf tournament, the General and his family have been among the great friends of the college. In 1993, Burke and his wife established the Kelly and Denny Burke Family Scholarship Endowment with a gift of $60,000. The scholarship was designed for non-traditional students with military men and women and their spouses being the preferred recipients.

Once students began receiving scholarship awards, the Burkes decided to extend the scope of the scholarship and add a bonus feature. The Burke Scholarship began to offer an additional two years at any Florida state-supported college or university to scholarship recipients who wanted to work toward their Bachelor's Degree. Riotta Scott, NWFSC Web Page Designer, was one such student. The Burke Scholarship made my degree possible," said Scott. "My two years at OWCC were almost entirely covered by the scholarship. When I moved on to UWF, the monetary support made my financial burden much easier to bear. With two children, sometimes college tuition was not always easy to find. I will always be indebted to Lt. Gen. and Mrs. Burke for their confidence in me and for their financial support."

Not to sit back and look at the hundreds of students who have benefitted from the scholarship and be satisfied, the Burkes then decided to establish the Burke Plus 2 Scholarship with the foundation. This particular scholarship is awarded annually to a number of students who have received their degrees from NWFSC but who were not Burke Scholars while NWFSC students. The scholarship provides $1,500 per academic year for two years to any state-supported college or university in Florida, including NWFSC. The Burkes also support NWFSC student nurses through the Patricia Burke-Ackal Nursing Scholarship, named in memory of their deceased daughter Patty.

From the first eight students who received the inaugural Kelly and Denny Burke Family Scholarship in 1994, the Burke family has awarded scholarships to 235 students. Though his tenure on the NWFSC Foundation Board of Directors is over, Kelly Burke's legacy, and that of the entire Burke family, will live on in the hundreds of students whose lives they have touched with the gift and the opportunity of a higher education.