News & Events
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Archbishop Williams High School names
2010 Man & Woman of the Year at annual Summer Social
AWHS recently honored Katherine Ford Lewis '95 of Rockland as Woman of the Year and Dennis K. Burke '55 of Pembroke as Man of the Year.
Lewis comes from a long line of family members who attended and graduated from AWHS. While a student, she was a cheerleader and participated in track. During that time she was recognized as a NCA All-American in the 10th, 11th and 12th grades.
Today, she continues to contribute to the AWHS cheerleading program as its coach, recently completing her 16th season in that role. Lewis has inspired her athletes to work hard and be determined. As a result, her teams have consistently garnered acclaim. In 2010 the AWHS cheerleading team hit the trifecta, winning league, state and national championships - the first national championship title in the school's 60-year athletic history.
Lewis graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in Exercise Science and earned a M.Ed. in Counseling from Bridgewater State College. She works as a middle school guidance counselor in the Braintree Public School system and is married to AWHS alumnus Jared Lewis '98. The couple lives in Rockland.
Lewis was honored during the school's June 7th Summer Social and was selected as Woman of the Year for being a role model of generosity, leadership and success.
"Champions are not made easily. They come at a cost. That cost includes passion, pain, strength and sacrifice," said Carmen Mariano, President of AWHS. "Kathie led our cheerleaders through all of those things and to the single greatest accomplishment of any team at any time since our school became a school. She has made an incredible and indelible mark on the athletic program at Archbishop Williams High School."
In 1961, Burke founded Dennis K. Burke Oil Company as a small privately-held business; today it is recognized as one of the area's largest suppliers of diesel fuel, gasoline and motor oil products. A leader in its field, Dennis K. Burke Oil has received accolades throughout the decades for superior service, environmental leadership and recognition for being the third largest privately held company in New England.
Burke's commitment to Archbishop Williams has been steadfast over many years. As steering committee chairman of a capital campaign the school ran in the 1990s, he led a team to raise more than $750,000 to establish the AWHS Endowment Fund. More recently he funded The Burke Computer Laboratory, which continues to be a major asset to the school's curriculum. This year, Burke accepted the chairman role once again as AWHS begins the Building For The Future capital campaign.
Recognized throughout his community and beyond for his support of many worthy causes, Burke, now retired, is the proud father of two daughters and four grandchildren. He and his wife Maureen, a member of the AWHS class of 1957, live in Pembroke.
Burke was honored during the annual summer social and was selected as Man of the Year for being a role model of generosity, leadership and success.
"Dennis K. Burke has set a bar of accomplishment, generosity and support that any other graduate of our school would be more than proud to clear; he is a man of courage, integrity and vision," said Carmen Mariano, President of AWHS. "He is my role model. I respect him, I admire him and I thank him for all he has done. He makes our school and our world better places, just by being who he is."
