NEW PHILADELPHIA − Tom Burke of New Philadelphia was elected to serve as the national president of Vietnam Veterans of America at the organization’s national convention.
Burke previously served three terms as VVA National vice president and multiple tours on the VVA National Board of Directors. He volunteered for military service in the U.S. Navy in 1963, serving aboard the U.S.S. Hancock in his final year.
First elected to the VVA National Board of Directors in August 2009, Burke has served as an at-large director for four terms and as National Region 5 (Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois) director for two terms. Over his tenure at VVA, Burke has been appointed by the VVA national president as national committee chair, vice chair, and as a member of several committees. He has led or has served as a member of the following VVA national committees, including Government Affairs, Veterans Benefits, Finance, Veterans Incarcerated, and Disciplinary, as well as the Council of State Council Presidents.
Starting out at the local level, he also served as first and second vice president before being elected as president of Chapter 857, a position he held for four terms. Burke holds VVA’s highest commendation and is a member of the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame, Class of 2016.
In his professional career, Burke rolled for 37 years in the transportation and logistics industry. He was employed by the Canadian National Railroad for 27 years, with annual sales exceeding $14 billion Canadian dollars. As a market manager for this company’s pulp and paper division, Burke was responsible for $38 million in products. Later, he was employed by the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway, having operational control as well as marketing and sales of their intermodal terminal operation.
After leaving the railroad industry, Burke moved over to the trucking side of transportation, serving as vice president of marketing for a privately held trucking company. Additionally, he operated his own consulting business in logistics, serving many companies during this time and maintaining a highly successful business.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: New Philadelphia’s Tom Burke elected national president of Vietnam Veterans of American
Reporting by Staff Reports / The Times-Reporter
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