Will Burke is the incoming president of the Rotary Club of Palm Valley.
As the incoming president for the Rotary Club of Palm Valley, what are you most looking forward to?
I’m most looking forward to figuring out how to herd cats — also known as running meetings with Rotarians who all have strong opinions and better ideas than mine. But honestly, I’m excited to serve, to laugh a lot, to dodge a few flying tomatoes and to leave the club just a little better (and, hopefully, still intact) by the end of the year. If all else fails, I hear past presidents get a nice seat in the back and receive a free adult beverage with our meeting dinner.
Are there any special club-related events coming up this year?
We’re bringing back our annual raffle — because who doesn’t love a shot at glory and a chance to win the grand prize of dinner for six at an exquisite restaurant. The money we raise proves that people will buy tickets when there’s a 20% chance of winning a prize worth hundreds of dollars (and a 100% chance of feeling good about it).
The proceeds go to some fantastic causes: the Down Syndrome Association of Jacksonville, S.A.F.E. Animal Rescue in St. Augustine and Gabriel House at the Mayo Clinic, which offers affordable temporary housing for adult organ transplant and cancer patients. It’s a great way to do good — plus, it’s way more exciting than just mailing in a donation.
Our club is in the early planning stages of a project to bring safe, clean water to a village in Uganda, because everyone deserves access to water. We’re hoping to team up with other Rotary clubs in the Jacksonville area so we can make a bigger splash (pun fully intended).
On the lighter side, we’ve got some great socials in the works. We’ll be visiting a winery or two where, after one tasting, we’ll all suddenly be qualified sommeliers. We’re planning a DIY pizza night, where members will make and bake their own creations — results may vary. We’ll also visit the St. Mary’s Submarine Museum, and I’ve got a few other surprise socials up my sleeve that I do not want to share right now, but they’ll be a thriller and a chiller.
Tell me about the club itself and its role in our community.
We’re a group of people who enjoy giving back almost as much as we enjoy at our meetings, which are sit-down, four-course dinners, with adult beverages, if one wishes, twice a month. Our role in the community is part service squad, part support system and part social club with a conscience. If there’s a need in town — whether it’s funding a local charity, helping students or organizing a clean-up — you can bet someone from our club is already on it … or has a spreadsheet started.
Tell me a little about yourself, your career and background.
My life is a bit like the old TV show “My Three Sons” — except I’ve also got a wonderful wife who happens to be a member of our Rotary club, so I’m clearly outnumbered at home and at meetings.
I’ve been raising boys since I was 35. My oldest is 40 and works in the surety business (following in the family footsteps), my second is 38 and runs several food businesses in Colorado, and then there’s my “favorite” son — he’s 18 and about to start his senior year at Bolles. I’m kidding, of course … I love all my sons equally, but let’s be honest, the youngest still laughs at my dad jokes.
In 1980, I started a surety and insurance agency that specialized in serving commercial contractors working on public works projects. I sold the business in 2021 to a large risk management firm and stayed on for three years, commuting between Ponte Vedra Beach and Las Cruces, New Mexico, every other month.
How long have you lived in this area, and where did you come from originally?
My wife has family in the Jacksonville area, so we've been making trips out here for about 15 years — enough visits to know where all the good food is and how to survive the humidity. I grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and earned both my undergraduate and graduate business degrees from the University of Denver. After that, I spent three very long winters in Chicago and a decade in Denver before finally settling in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where the air is dry, and the chile (this is how one spells chile in N.M., not chili) is hot, and it has the best Mexican food in the country.
What do you like best about living here?
Although I liked living in New Mexico, things just seem to work here. The county and PVB are well run, the services are reliable, and the people are some of the friendliest I’ve ever met — and I’ve lived in a few places. Yes, the summers are hot here … but New Mexico summers aren’t exactly a cool breeze either. The big difference? Here we don’t have 50-mile-an-hour winds that carry half the desert dirt of New Mexico into Texas. Okay, we do get the occasional hurricane breeze, but at least it’s not gritty.
How do you like to spend your free time?
What free time? We have an 18-year-old. My wife and I are currently chauffeuring him to every college visit south of the Mason-Dixon line — it’s like a tour of higher education and gas stations.
When I do get a moment to myself, I go for long walks … with my golf clubs. I took up golf three years ago after tearing my rotator cuff for the third time playing tennis, giving up a 40-year unimpressive tennis game. I figured golf would be easier — after all, the ball doesn’t move until it is hit, you’re not sprinting to chase it, and you have an entire bag of tools to get it where you want. Turns out, it’s so difficult, much more than tennis. I’m still working on breaking 100 consistently, but at least the scenery is nice.
My real hobby is collecting Navajo Indian blankets made between 1870 and 1930. They don’t talk back, they don’t need to be driven anywhere, and they never judge my short game.
The Rotary Club of Palm Valley recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. The club meets on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at the Marsh Landing Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, where members enjoy a four-course, sit-down dinner and focus on fellowship, service, and community impact.
If you or someone you know would like more information about the Rotary Club of Palm Valley, please send an email to admin@palmvalleyrotaryclub.org or call 904-226-2696.
