2004

Alumna of the Year society. Ironically, when she was inducted into the honor soc iety, former ECCC president Dr. Eddie M. Smith served as chap– ter president. Burkes said she had no 1dea that she would later ,.,ork for Dr. Smith or serve as an advi– sor for Phi Theta Kappa After graduating from East Central. Burkes at– tended Delta State l.Jni,·er– sity for one semester and then transferred to the Universi ty of Southern :\.tississippi where she re– ceived her bachelor's d~­ p-ee m English. Upon re– ...:el\1ng her degree, Burkes •aught one year at .Hickory ... gh School and served three Gui.stwhite Scholars, and several students who made Mississippi All-Aca– demic Teams. Burkes was also ,·ery much involved in the planmng ofHomecom– ing while she was em– ployed at East Central and continues to be involved as a member of the Alumni Association Board of Di– rectors. From 1969 to 1994, Burkes and her husband, Roger. li\ ed 1n faculty housing on the College campus. "Living on cam– pus was like ha,·ing a big family. And during those years many employees lived on campus or close by," she sa id. Since her retirement in 200 I, Burkes has been involved in vari– ous community activities. "E\·ery Friday l work at the >.Iewton County Historical and Genealogical Society," Burkes said. ··we have a new location in the old Ne\\1on County Jail Build– ing. We are very proud of this facility. Bes s

mari ly had books and maga:.dnes and j ust a few pieces Qfaudio 'isual ma– terials. As funds were available and equipment more acce:>slhle. '' e began to get 1r "~re th 1ngs .. Burke~ \\4h also Jn\ Oh ed in the des1hrn of Burton Li– br'lr~ 10 the early se\en– tic~ and was ver~ much a part ot the computer re' o– luuon of the mneue~ that ha~changedthe \\aylnany sen 1Ces are offered through the library. ln ad– dit'0n to her duties as librar– iar•. Bukes also served as an advisor to Phi Theta Kappa, the international honor society of the two– year college. She became a co-advisor of Theta Xi Chapter in the fall of 1981 when then-college presi– dent Dr. Charles Wright asked her to serve with faculty members Sara Heard and Rudolph Mayes. When Heard re– tired, Burkes serwd with Mayes until he retired. Dr. Shelby Harris succeeded Mayes. Burkes and Har– ris served as co-advisot's for 20 years. "I miss Shelby every day. He just had such an impac t on my C: .. Burkes said. Some Theta :\.. t!"e held at Lake T1ak 0 Khata in Louisville. Burkes said, "Girls wore party dresses and we had a ban– quet and it was a very big deal. However. there were no competitions and \XIe didn't go to convention. And we didn't have all of the organized meetings that are held today. "In the early to mid-80s, Phi Theta Kappa began to be more structured. When Rod Risely took over as executive director the or– ganization became much

:ee years as librarian in ·en dian elementary ~hools. It was at that me. she learned of the ng at East Central. " I _s eaung at a Meridian res· :1... ;-am one day when I s-~ Denver Brac'keen :bo was acting Academic Dean at the time,:· said Burkes. "He mentioned that the College was look– .ng for a librarian and asked if 1 wanted a job. I. really thought he was kid– - ~ ~ ~: I had onl~ been out ot ~o c~ years and hadn't e\en started on my master's degree. "My Uncle Frank called me later to ask if i was going to take the job. Afier l found out Dean Brackeen wasn't joking. I accepted the job. I later completed my master's and educational specialist degrees:· During her 32 years as the college 's li– brarian, Burkes has seen. many changes. When she became librarian in 1969, the library was located in what is currently the W. Amo Vincent Administra-

Hollingsworth, who is also a retired librarian and EC graduate, and I have been organizing and color cod– ing the different collec– tions. "lam also beginning a three-year term as Re– gent for the local DAR r •he A.meri- can Re,·oluuon' Chapter and I am chairman of the state scrapbook commit– tee:· In addition, Burkes is involved in the Decatur Chamber of Commerce and serves part-time as the Newton County Schools Public Relations Officer. Burkes is a member ofthe Newton County Retired Education Personnel, the Mississippi Retired Educa– tion Personnel and the Uni– versityofSouthern Missis– sippi Alumni Association.