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Burkes win naming rights to cougars
new slt cougars donors
Gary and Anna Burke won naming rights for the new cougars at the Great Bend-Brit Spaugh Zoo, and named them after their grandchildren, Tanner Ford and Tommie Lankerd. They posed for a photo Wednesday in front of the cougar exhibit. Pictured are, back row, from left: Anna, Tanner and Gary; front row: Tommie and Kari Lankerd, mother of Tanner and Tommie. - photo by Susan Thacker/Great Bend Tribune

Holopirek retiring
The Big Benefit Auction held on Aug. 23 will be the last one organized by Holopirek, who is retiring at the end of the year. During a board of trustees study session on Thursday, Shafer Art Gallery Director Dave Barnes commented on the work of the screening committee for the next director of institutional advancement. Barnes chairs the committee, which will meet at the end of the month.
“We’re still perhaps early in the search,” Barnes told the trustees. There have been some applicants, but Barnes said he believes the college should take its time to find the person who will be the best fit for Barton.

At this year’s Big Benefit Auction for the Barton Community College Foundation, Great Bend residents Gary and Anna Burke submitted the winning bid on a unique item — naming rights to two cougar cubs recently acquired by the Great Bend-Brit Spaugh Zoo. They named the cougars after their grandchildren, Tanner Ford and Tommie Lankerd.
“I thought it was pretty cool,” Tanner said Wednesday during a visit to the zoo. The family visited the exhibit area, which currently sports a banner that notes the BCC mascot is the Cougar.
Barton’s Director of Institutional Development Darnell Holopirek said the top bid of $350 and other proceeds from the annual auction will go toward scholarships and academic program enhancements. A plaque will be added at the zoo exhibit to let everyone know the cougars are Tanner and Tommie, “named through the generosity of Gary and Anna Burke in honor of their grandchildren.”
Back in the late 1990s, Barton employees created a fund to pay for food for the zoo’s old cougar, Bart. After Bart passed away, the Barton Foundation held the funds. When foundation board members were notified that there would be new cougars coming to the zoo this year, they decided to use the remaining money to pay for the animals’ transport.
Gary Burke is a BCC graduate, as is one of his daughters. He is a past Booster Club president and past chairman of the BCC Foundation Board.
“I think the college is a great asset to the community,” he said.
Tanner is a junior at Great Bend High School and is also taking his first BCC class, in psychology. The dual credit will apply to both high school and college.