Eby-Brown CIO Helps 53 Kids Pay for College

ELBURN, IL – May 28, 2006 - Graduation day should be an exciting day, filled with laughter and memories shared with friends and family.

For Bob Burkholder, Chief Information Officer for Eby-Brown, and his wife Donna, this day was bittersweet.

The Burkholders two children, Andrew, 17, and Jarrett, 15, were killed in a tragic car accident on March 3, 2003.  This year, Jarrett would have walked across the stage with his classmates, clasping a diploma tightly in his hands.

Instead, his parents found themselves up on stage, presenting $1,000 scholarships to twenty of Jarrett’s classmates and friends.

The Andrew and Jarrett Burkholder Memorial Scholarship has been given every year since the boys’ deaths, to students graduating from Kaneland High School.  The plaques given to award recipients read: “Dedicated to the pursuit of learning” in memory of Jarrett; “and the love of life,” for Andrew.

The Burkholders had been saving money for years to put their two sons through college.  After Andrew and Jarrett passed, they could have bought a new car, or done something for themselves.  Instead, they felt the money would be better spent helping Andrew and Jarrett’s friends and classmates further their education.  Over the years, the Burkholders have donated about $43,000 to Kaneland High graduates.

“The school and community really helped us out and embraced us in our time of need,” Burkholder said.  “It’s good to give something back.” 

Burkholder has been a prominent member of the convenience store industry for over 30 years.  He has served on the NACS Technology Committee, the NACS EDI Standards Committee, the Technology Standards Steering Committee, and is currently a member of PCATS - the Petroleum Convenience Alliance for Technology Standards.