Dan Burack chats with Mike Tierney during the Greater Westfield Chamber of Commerce Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner in 2022.
Republican file photo
EAST LONGMEADOW — East Longmeadow hosts what is widely considered to be the largest Fourth of July parade in Western Massachusetts and the prestigious title of grand marshal is awarded to a member of the community who is giving of themselves to help others and make the town a better place to live. For the 2025 East Longmeadow Fourth of July Parade, that honor belongs to Daniel Burack.
Burack has lived in East Longmeadow since the 1950s when he was in elementary school and is a graduate of East Longmeadow High School. Over the past 70 years, Burack has donated his time, passion and business acumen to both the town and civic organizations. Reflecting on his years of municipal and volunteer work, Burack said, “You don’t do it to be recognized. You do it because you enjoy it. But it’s an honor.”
Many people remember Burack from his 21 years as an elected member of East Longmeadow’s Board of Public Works, a body that was eliminated when the town changed its form of government. Aside from this, Burack is well known as a businessperson, both in East Longmeadow and the surrounding area. Throughout the years, he owned four separate businesses in East Longmeadow, and the Cabotville Industrial Park in Chicopee. Since 2009, he has been the owner and president of Tekoa Country Club in Westfield. Over the years Burack has given his time to help other businesses in the area, serving as the president of the Westfield, East Longmeadow and Chicopee chambers of commerce. The last of these honored Burack with the 1999 Shining Star award as volunteer of the year.
Volunteering is something Burack has been passionate about his entire life. “I’ve always been someone who likes to get involved,” he said. “I think every community has its people who step up and volunteer,” Burack said.
Burack sits on the board of directors for several organizations, including the Zoo in Forest Park, WestMass Area Development Corporation and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Westfield, which presented him with its President’s Award in 2016 and inducted onto the Wall of Fame in 2024. He was also president of the now-defunct East Longmeadow Jaycees, which ran the annual Fishing Derby at Heritage Park, offered a Christmas tree pickup and organized the Fourth of July carnival for a time. Through the Jaycees, Burack was involved in several community projects.
“I saved the fireworks back when they were thinking about canceling them,” Burack said. He explained that during the recession in the 1970s, the town did not have the funds to pay for a firework display. Burack raised $20,000 and donated it to the town, funding two years of fireworks.
The organization Burack has the longest tenure with is the East Longmeadow Rotary Club. He said the club “[picks] up the slack for a lot of things the town can’t afford to do.” In his 47 years with the Rotary Club, he has received three Paul Harris Fellow Awards and is co-chair of the club’s Time Capsule Committee. The club and the East Longmeadow Historical Commission buried a capsule in 1976 and plan to unearth it next year.
Burack also worked with the East Longmeadow Rotary Scholarship Foundation to establish the Douglas Burack and Jean Ference-Burack Memorial Scholarship funds, which awards $10,000 to deserving seniors in town each year.
Many civic organizations have decried their lack of new, young members. However, Burack does not necessarily see that as a negative. He said, “I truly believe people are more involved with their kids than ever before. I think that’s great.”
A father of three and grandfather of seven, Burack is a lifelong sports enthusiast and currently plays golf. In September, Burack will be inducted into the Western Massachusetts Golf Hall of Fame.
“It is a busy and rewarding year for me,” he said.
