Donna Burns:  

In 1978, I married the love of my life, John Burns from the class of 1973. I regret that I never went to college as I've always wanted to be a teacher, but that came to fruition in other ways during my lifetime. John and I had three children, Jason, now 29, Brianna, now 23 and Shawn, now 21. (my "baby" turned 21 on New Year's Eve. How crazy is that?). As it turns out, the "baby" turned out to be the tallest, probably taking after my dad. In January of 2000, John passed away from complications of diabetes. My youngest had just turned 12, 3 weeks prior to that. It was rough for a while, but life eventually turned to a new norm. I have used my big mouth and my cheerleading skills to coach cheerleading to young men and women for the past 30 years. I just recently retired from that part of my life. I figured I'd better get out before I started coaching the grandchildren of kids I had coached in my younger days. The first class of kid's I coached will be turning 48 this year!! A lot of this was volunteer work, however, at one time, I did coach at Franklin High School and actually got paid for my passion. Although, those of us who coach know that we do not do it for the financial reward, as the money is usually not much to brag about compared to the time invested. The intangible rewards are very fulfilling. Now that I've finished that phase of my life, I can still enjoy the sport by watching my daughter, who followed in my footsteps. She has been a cheerleader since sixth grade. She cheered at the grade school where I volunteered, moved on to cheer at Franklin High School, UW-Milwaukee, and became part of the Universal Cheerleaders Association staff. Her initial coaching job was in Oak Creek, however, she now works in the Menomonee Fal...Expand for more