Today’s MI Environment story is by Jim Day, senior environmental quality analyst in the Materials Management Division of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and member of EGLE Vets.

Sandra Philpott-Burke is a powerful supporter of veterans within her workplace at the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), and in her church and outlying community within the City of Detroit.

Veterans are oftentimes known for their humbleness. For those veterans not able to -- or who are unwilling to talk about and who do not want to overstate -- their service to our country, Sandra has become their voice. She has become “A Voice for Veterans”.

Married to an Air Force veteran, Sandra knows only too well the importance of returning veterans and their service to our country, which is not often fully recognized by the general public. Sandra has become an outspoken supporter for veterans, bringing recognition for their service to our country and ensuring that veterans have access to material support and information that will assist them day to day. And for newly returning veterans, her work aids in easing their transition back into civilian life.

Herself not a veteran, Sandra openly admits that she is not sure if she could have served, due to the rigors of that commitment. What Sandra doesn’t witness in herself, that so many of our veterans, her co-workers, and her fellow church members recognize, is her selflessness, her concern for others, her professionalism, and her drive.

Within EGLE, Sandra is a member of several employee resource groups (ERGs), including the EGLE Veterans ERG, EGLE Vets. Sandra has been an outspoken advocate for our EGLE veterans since the group’s inception on April 15, 2022.  Her persistence was instrumental in EGLE gaining recognition from the Michigan Veterans Affairs Agency (MVAA) -- initially at the bronze-level and then the silver-level, earning the Veteran-Friendly Employer designations. Sandra continues to advocate on EGLE’s behalf toward MVAA Gold Level Veteran-Friendly Employer recognition.

Outside of EGLE, Sandra has actively participated in providing support to, and recognition of, veterans within her church and community. “Our church in Detroit has a number of veterans from various areas of the military,” Philpott-Burke says. “For veterans, what we do is provide material support and information through our resource center. We provide information on resources that are available to veterans. We get information from MVAA and from other veterans’ service organizations and pass that information out to people in our church and to veterans in our community who may not have easy access to that information.”

Explaining why she believes it important to recognize and to support veterans, she said, “I like seeing when veterans come home and recognize that there are a lot of things that they have done to make our make our country safer. And, through their efforts, they make it easier for those of us who maybe couldn’t stand the rigors of being a military person.”

Showing her gratitude for those who are serving and who have served, she added: “I’ve been so blessed that I didn’t have to serve because somebody else took the time to serve for me. So, I can certainly appreciate what they did, and anything I can do to assist veterans, I’m very much in favor of that. Each year, at First Baptist Institutional Church, we provide a recognition service for veterans, acknowledging their service to our country.”

Beyond her work with and support of veterans, Sandra is a member of the social justice committee in her church and volunteers her time at a church-adopted elementary school. Through this association, she supports efforts to ensure that some of our society’s less fortunate within the community understand that somebody cares. Sandra’s efforts ensure these children are provided with personal hygiene products and other necessary items that may not always be available to them in their home environment.