VETERANS
HOMECOMING MISSION
City, businesses and organizations thank military
families for years of service and sacrifice
What more gratitude can a community show
military families than offering the security
of a place to call home? Realizing that home
ownership can be a huge hurdle since raising a
family on a military salary is often a struggle, Port St. Lucie
has done just that for three special servicemen who received
mortgage-free homes.
In 2013, retired Army Sgt. Michael Burke, a Purple Heart
recipient, was awarded a home and the key to the city with
deep appreciation for protecting the homeland. Thanks to
the sponsorship efforts of Florida Realtors, Military Warriors
Support Foundation and Chase Bank, which donated the
home, local businesses also generously partnered: Rooms
To Go donated $10,000 worth of home furnishings, Jetson’s
donated a 60-inch television and the Realtors Association of
St. Lucie provided a grill and a $500 gift card from Publix.
“It feels wonderful,” says Gary Cassidy, Rooms To Go
store manager. “When the company you work for does
something like this, it really makes you feel great. It’s nice
to see the whole community support a family as nice as the
Burkes.”
On the frontlines in Iraq, Burke spent two months in a
Baghdad hospital and Camp Liberty recovering from an
IED blast, then returning on mission for another year. He
retired in 2009. “My project would not have been what it
was without Staci Storms — she did so much for us,” Burke
says. “She gave out of her own finances on the furnishings.
We’re fortunate as the newer veterans because people care >>
36 Port St. Lucie Magazine
CITY OF PORT ST. LUCIE
Coast Guardsman Ray Concepcion (center), his wife Cassie, and sons Xavier and Eddie, are assisted by Port St. Lucie city officials and staff as they cut the
ribbon on their newly renovated Port St. Lucie home.
BY DEBRA MAGRANN