Jesse the Sentinel Award: Celebrating the Values That Shape Us

Honoring Dan Burgher | March 20, 2026

At Jesse Remington High School, we are proud to recognize members of our community who live out the values that define us. The Jesse the Sentinel Award celebrates those—faculty, staff, board members, coaches, and volunteers—whose work reflects empathy and understanding, proactive hard work, orderliness and self discipline, resilience and grit, and honor and respect. These are not just ideals we talk about; they are qualities we strive to model as a community and pass on to our students.

A Sentinel is one who keeps watch over the King’s treasure. At JRHS, that treasure is our students. They represent the future of the Church and the communities they will go on to serve. Our calling is to prepare them well, to raise up young men and women who will carry Christ into the world long after their time here, and even beyond our own.

Each Jesse the Sentinel Award recipient reflects these values in clear and meaningful ways.

This month, we are honored to recognize Dan Burgher as our Sentinel, highlighting his work on the Maple Sugaring Project upgrade from 2024 to 2026.

Empathy and Understanding

Dan demonstrated a Christ-like sensitivity throughout this process. He respected the history of the maple project and the years of investment already made, while also bringing a clear vision for improvement. His patience and understanding, especially when others needed time to catch up, made collaboration possible and meaningful.

Proactive Hard Work

What began as a simple conversation about potential funding quickly turned into something much larger. Through extensive research, planning, and execution, Dan helped bring a complete transformation to life. From ordering equipment to redesigning the sugar shack, his initiative and work ethic were evident every step of the way.

Orderliness and Self Discipline

Ambitious goals require structure and follow through. Dan helped set clear timelines and worked diligently to meet them, even when setbacks forced the team to regroup and try again. His steady discipline ensured progress never stalled for long.

Resilience and Grit

The journey was filled with challenges: failed inspections, technical setbacks, and the uncertainty of learning entirely new systems. Through it all, Dan remained steadfast. He faced each obstacle head on, always finding a way forward and refusing to be discouraged.

Honor and Respect

Perhaps most notably, Dan consistently showed honor and respect to everyone involved: students, colleagues, alumni, town officials, and industry experts. Even as his own expertise grew, he remained humble, always eager to learn from others and quick to recognize their contributions.

What started as a modest 100-hour project has grown into thousands of hours of collective effort, and the fruit is sweet and valuable for JRHS. While many have contributed, Dan has been at the center of it all, and through his leadership, we have seen something deeper take shape.

God’s “secret delight” is something we know well here: the maple syrup we produce. But as Frank Reynolds shared at a recent Agape Lunch, God wants to demonstrate that same sweetness in us. Through this project, and through Dan’s perseverance, humility, and faithful work, that sweetness has come to life in a way our whole community can witness. It is for this reason that we celebrate Dan Burgher as our March Jesse the Sentinel.