ALUMNI IN FOCUS
Mike Burke (L-R), Doug Burke ’04, and Francey Kanengiser Burke ’80 presented a
donation for hurricane relief to Reggie Hanberry, president of Picayune Rotary Club
in Mississippi.
|
|
Burke ’80 Lends Hand
to Hurricane Relief
When Hurricane Katrina hit, Francey Kanengiser Burke ’80 knew just what to do. She
gathered her sons, coworkers, and Rotary club connections and found
a way to help.
Burke juggles as many roles
today as she did as an English major. Then she held down four jobs, edited
The Lafayette, and took a full course load—all at once. Today she is director of advertising for Burke Motor Group, an integral leader in a local Rotary club, and a mother who has inspired her three sons to be as community service-minded as she is by working side-by-side with them.
“Our dealership has been supporting Rotary for some time, contributing over $100,000 in the last few years for scholarships,
a local playground, and more,”
she says. “This year we decided to send some of the proceeds somewhere in the Gulf.”
Her sons wanted to present the $10,000 in person and work on rebuilding efforts during the trip. Burke set off before Christmas, picking up two of her sons from college on the way.
“I met my husband Dave at Lafayette,” notes Burke, an alumni admissions representative for more than 20 years. “My son Doug graduated in 2004. He was a B student coming in and his professors and the curriculum inspired him
so much that he earned honors and later went on to law school.”
| 
