Duane Burghard

Duane Burghard is an American businessman, veteran and politician. Born in the Chicago suburb of Evanston, Illinois on July 5th, 1965, Burghard spent the first 11 years of his life in the nearby town of Glenview, Illinois. He was the oldest of three children (his sister Diana was born in 1967 and his brother David was born in 1970). His father, Neil Burghard, owned and operated a wholesale foods distribution company, "Burghard & Sons Butter and Eggs" and his mother, Christine Haynes Burghard (now Christine Haynes Negley) was a former public school teacher who worked part time for her father's insurance company, "W.J. Haynes Insurance." His parents were involved in a particularly acrimonious divorce in the early 1970s. He has two step-brothers from his father's remarriage and four step-sisters from his mother's remarriage. As a young man, he was especially close to both of his grandfathers.

In 1976, when his mother remarried, Burghard moved to the small southern Illinois town of Olney, Illinois. In January of 1979 he relocated to Chicago living with both his father's family in the north suburbs and with his maternal grandfather (W.J. Haynes) in the city (until Mr. Haynes sudden death in September of 1980). Burghard graduated from nationally renowned New Trier Township High School in 1983 (where he specialized in radio and performing arts).

In the fall of 1983, Burghard was admitted to and attended the University of Missouri, where he "started college, joined the Navy and met my wife all in the same week." He met his wife, the former Mara Lynn Judy, in church in August of 1983. The couple married in December, 1989. A Navy ROTC scholarship recipient, Burghard graduated from the University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science in 1987 and was commissioned as an Officer in the United States Navy. Originally accepted to US Navy flight school, due to the Navy's frequently changing flight requirements, Burghard eventually chose to "D.O.R." (Drop On Request) in the spring of 1988 and subsequently attended and graduated from the Navy's Surface Warfare Officer's School in Newport, Rhode Island. He then served on board USS KIDD (DDG-993) and later at the Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia before serving his shore duty as the Admin Department Head at the Naval Academy Preparatory School in Newport, Rhode Island. A recipient of the "Battle E" and National Defense Service Medals (the latter for his service during Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm) Burghard resigned his active commission in 1991. He would later describe the decision to leave the Navy as one of the hardest decisions of his life.

While on active duty, Burghard was introduced to and developed a life long passion for Apple computers. He taught himself how to program and authored a piece of software called "The Division Officer's Notebook" which he later (successfully) petitioned the Navy to allow him to sell to Navy and Coast Guard commands while still on active duty (at its peak, the software was in use at 39 Navy and Coast Guard ships and installations). This experience necessitated him forming Mardun Software Ltd. (the company's name was taken from three letters of his and his wife's first names).

In 1992, Burghard ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Missouri's 9th Congressional District as an Independent candidate. While he had been predominantly aligned with the moderate wing of the Republican Party in his early life (serving in an organizational role with the College Republicans during the 1984 campaign), Burghard became disgruntled with the party's treatment of the "Rockefeller Republicans" and formally left the party immediately following the 1984 elections. Throughout the 1992 campaign, Burghard said that, if elected, he would caucus with the Democratic Party (though he considered himself one of their more conservative supporters). Burghard campaigned with a small but dedicated group of supporters throughout 1992 and was known for walking his way through three pairs of shoes on the campaign trail. Burghard later said of the grueling campaign that it was "the best and worst experience of my life."

In 1993, Burghard turned his attention back to his software development business, immediately expanding into hardware and software resale. He also worked for Apple Computer as an Apple Authorized Product Representative (AAPR) until late 1995, when his own company received its authorization as an Authorized Apple reseller. During the 1990s, Burghard became a self-described "serial entrepreneur" creating numerous business ventures (some of which were sold off and are still in business today). He served as the President and CEO of his primary company (Mardun Software Ltd., which became primarily known under DBA names Odyssey Tek in the 1990s and, from 2002 until the present as MacXprts) from 1993 until January of 2006.

In December of 2005, Burghard announced his second run for U.S. Congress, this time seeking and winning the Democratic Party's nomination. He ran against conservative Republican incumbent Kenny Hulshof in Missouri's 9th Congressional district. Despite raising significantly more money and garnering more support than any previous challenger to date, Burghard lost to Hulshof in November of 2006, but expressed his intention to run again in 2008 (however, for primarily business reasons, he chose to continue to with his company instead).

Following the 2006 elections, Burghard returned to MacXprts, but decided that his wife (who joined the company in 1998 and had spent four years as Chief Operating Officer before taking over for him as CEO during the campaign) should remain in her leadership role. He remains the Chairman of the company's Board of Directors and serves as its Chief Financial Officer and its Director of Programming. Today the company is roughly the 12th to 15th largest company of its type in the United States. At its peak of expansion it had as many as 12 retail storefronts in 10 states, but today (while larger in revenues and profits) maintains just 9 stores in 8 states.

Since 2008, Burghard has also served on the Board of Directors of the Apple Specialist Marketing Corporation (ASMC), which oversees the marketing and communications activities for over 100 Apple dealers accounting for several hundred million dollars in sales. He also serves on the Board of a St. Louis based non-profit and two neighborhood associations in Columbia, Missouri.

Duane and Mara Burghard have two daughters, Taylor Burghard and Jordan, and currently reside in Columbia, Missouri.

See also

Biography portal

• Fighting Dems
• Veterans’ Alliance for Security and Democracy

External links

• Duane Burghard Official
• Dean rallies Democratic activists August 13, 2006
• The Democrat's Nominee

Persondata
Name	Burghard, Duane
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Date of birth	July 5
Place of birth	Evanston, Illinois
Date of death
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