When we asked David Burkhardt, RCCF Board Member, what people might be surprised to learn about him, he led us to believe there wasn’t much. “What you see is what you get,” he replied. Not true, we say.

Dave was born and raised in Rush County, just west of Glenwood, where he still lives today. “I love living in Rush County because wherever you are, someone will wave at you and smile,” he shared with a smile of his own.

In the summer of 1976 his life would change when he met and fell in love with an intern in the Extension office. Three years later the couple married. Today, Dave and Debra have four children – Chris, Andy, Kaitlyn and Sarah and six grandchildren with a seventh on the way in mid-November. Myle, a dog, and Iris, a cat, round out the Burkhardt family.

Dave has worked at Falmouth Farm Supply for the last 28 years. He’s a salesman but matter-of-factly adds, “But that includes whatever else needs done.” That work ethic serves him well in his other roles as a 24-year veteran of the Glenwood Volunteer Fire Department. Currently, he serves as treasurer. He is also the President of the Orange North Cemetery Association.

A two-time RCCF board member, Dave first served in 2010, when invited by Amy Meyer Ploeger. He appreciates the local focus of RCCF and wishes that others knew, “That it is a very easy place to donate money to and get it to the place you want to see it go.”

We love Dave’s thought on who he considers a hero – “A volunteer because they are willing to give their time to make life better for their community!!” Thanks for being our hero, Dave.