Although so many people are involved with making Burke a great place to live, here are some of the key players that have donated their time and expertise to the effort.
<sh>Jason Colosky
<bt>The Burke Conservancy is one of the largest homeowners associations on the east coast, according to president Jason Colosky, but he tries to keep his mission focused on quality of life.
"They're motive was to make it a better place to live. At times, it's almost like a second job," he said.
One of his concerns is the coming fall festival, which depends heavily on volunteers. He wants to stay away from people that may have business or personal agendas.
"Last year was a most successful fall festival, we want to continue to improve it," he said.
Another concern was getting politicians involved with Burke Centre. Before redistricting last year, Burke Centre was under both Supervisors Sharon Bulova (D-Braddock) and Elaine McConnell (R-Springfield). Colosky wasn't concerned with the political parties but more with getting a politician involved with their concerns. Three years ago, politicians were left out of the conservancy's matters.
"There's pluses and minuses to it. It's worked so far," he said.
On the negative side, now they only have one vote on the Board of Supervisors where they used to have two.
Colosky was instrumental in establishing the parking and towing task force. He is an ex-Marine and at age 30, one of the youngest Burke Centre presidents in recent history.
<sh>Sande Pfalzgraf
<bt>Chairperson of the Burke Centre Festival 25th Annual Committee, Sande Pfalzgraf has led the committee for 12 of the committee’s 25 years.
"It's a way to meet your resident neighbors and just to have a good time." she said. "There are over 100 antiques and crafters at the festival."
The festival, which attracts 12-13,000 people from all over Northern Virginia, includes food venders, games for kids, magic and puppet shows, a wine festival, and bingo. Many local radio stations, as well as the police and fire department, also attend. There is also free admission and a free shuttle bus service.
"Its a great place to bring the family because it has something for everyone." said Pfalzgraf.
<sh>Blake Myers
<bt>Blake Myers is the chairperson of the Burke Lake Road Task Force.
"The Task Force is only three months old. It's not a permanent organization." said Myers. However, as chairperson, he has worked with the VDOT (Virginia Department Of Transportation) who designs the roads in Burke as well as all of Virginia. The Task Force, made up of Burke residents, looks at the designs of the VDOT and gets input from residents about what they think about the designs.
"We discuss where to put stop lights and crosswalks," said Myers, "[We] want to make sure that the road conditions don't impact homeowners."
<sh>Steve Titunik
<bt>The role of the Interchange Information office has shifted since its inception and Virginia Department of Transportation information specialist Steve Titunik is a major player. Located in Springfield Mall, the VDOT office has gone from providing information and listening to complaints about the I-95/I-495 highway interchange project, to a liaison between citizens and VDOT. As the senior representative at the office, he is in touch with the one-of-a-kind mission the office has adopted, marketing VDOT and transportation.
"We've brought VDOT to the people. It provides a forum for the exchange of ideas," he said.
Titunik, a resident of Fairfax Station, has lived in the greater Springfield area for approximately 30 years. He's seen the transportation options increase from just a car, then buses, trains, carpools and metro.
"I have strong personal commitments here, I am home. Somewhere in there [house hunting] is that decision of transportation," he said.