Friendship brought Anna Burgmann to Raising Special Kids. Anna and former RSK staff member Vickie French had children about the same age and Anna worked as a secretary at the church where French’s husband served as staff pastor. Anna joined Raising Special Kids as the office receptionist in 2010.
Anna also worked as assistant to the RSK executive director before moving to her current role of office manager. She supervises the administrative team, works with the executive director managing financial responsibilities and assists staff members with daily office tasks. She retires in March 2024 after more than 13 years with the organization and she will be missed by all!
Anna has been married for more than 46 years to her high school sweetheart, Fred. The two live in Glendale and plan to split their time between Arizona and Alabama after they both retire this year. Anna has family members living in the southeastern United States, including siblings in Alabama and Georgia, so she looks forward to traveling with Fred to the area. “We’ve done everything else together, so we might as well retire together too,” Anna said.
Their adult son Courtney has ADHD and a sleep disorder, and he lives with them. Courtney is a disc jockey and enjoys the experimental music scene. Anna and her husband also plan to spend time during their retirement helping their son to develop more independence.
“Working at Raising Special Kids has been a good place for me with my son and his diagnoses,” Anna said. “It’s helpful to have folks around who understand if something was going on and I needed to leave. Everyone understands.” Anna also enjoyed her behind-the-scenes role in different RSK events.
In their free time, Anna and Fred like to cook and try new restaurants. They also enjoy playing games, spending time with friends and traveling. “We both decided to retire while we were healthy and could still do things,” Anna said. “We’ll be carefree and all about fun!”