VETERANS
FLORIDA REALTORS
Retired Army Sgt. Michael Burke, wife, Nichole, and children, Bryce and
Layla, attend the selection event in Tallahassee during Great American
Realtor Days with state Rep. Matt Hudson, a real estate broker.
so much more now. It wasn’t like that in Vietnam.”
“He was wounded and this is our way of giving back to
him,” says Storms, a retired CEO of Realtors Association of
St. Lucie. “I am so honored to have been part of this project.”
Burke has settled into retirement and is doing a lot of fishing.
“An organization called Freedom Fighters takes wounded
vets fishing. An Army friend and I recently went offshore
fishing with the boat captain for Jimmy Buffet,” Burke says.
HOMES COME MORTGAGE FREE
In 2015, a nonprofit, Building Homes for Heroes, and the
Treasure Coast Builders Association spearheaded a project to
provide a mortgage-free home to wounded veteran and Purple
Heart recipient, retired Army Spc. Hugo Gonzalez, his wife
and three daughters. Gonzalez, who is legally blind but has
some peripheral vision, suffered severe brain trauma during
an ambush and gun battle with insurgents when his combat
vehicle hit a roadside bomb during his 2004 tour in Iraq.
“When a soldier goes to war, the family goes to war as
well,” Gonzalez says. The painstaking transition back to
civilian life presents new challenges. The more productive
a veteran can be, the better their self image becomes and a
home equipped with adaptable features makes every day
that much better.
To make the home his castle, the design aspects include a
lighting system that allows him to navigate his new home
safely and confidently, special floor textures that serve as
paths from room to room and handrails for added guidance.
“As he walks around, he feels and knows where he is at all
times,” comments Andy Pujol, president of Building Homes
for Heroes. >>
Port St. Lucie Magazine 37