Long-time Summerlin residents featured in anniversary campaign

Long-time Summerlin residents Mike and Susan Burke recently participated in a community campaign, Project Happy. The campaign encouraged residents to submit video-recorded birthday wishes and reasons why they live in Summerlin. Submitted footage was used to create Summerlin's 20th anniversary television commercial and many of the testimonials featured on Summerlin's recently redesigned website, summerlin.com.

According to Nikkole Liesse, marketing director for Summerlin, the community has featured residents in its campaigns since its inception in the early 1990s. "Residents have always been Summerlin's best ambassadors," she said. "For the 20th anniversary celebration, we reached out to those ambassadors so they could authentically share with others the many reasons they chose to call Summerlin home."

Mike and Susan Burke have lived in Summerlin for 18 years.

"We came to Las Vegas on our honeymoon in 1982 and fell in love with the area," Mike Burke said. "Ten years later, after I retired from the St. Louis fire department, we bought our first Summerlin home in The Hills village. We lived there for 16 years and didn't have any intentions of moving -- until we saw this house in The Trails village, which we bought in 2008. We're here to stay."

The Burke's home overlooks the Trails Paseo Park. "We love to be outside and feel a true sense of community and family here in Summerlin," Susan Burke said. "We can't imagine living anywhere else."

Among the reasons the Burkes live in Summerlin is the outdoor recreational opportunities. "We appreciate the community's many resident amenities such as schools, churches, shopping and dining options. Plus, Summerlin's just plain beautiful -- both in terms of its landscaping and architecture," Susan Burke said. "We never fail to appreciate the views and beauty of our community. We're extremely fortunate to live in Summerlin."

Mike Burke works as a real estate consultant in Southern Nevada and Susan Burke is a table games dealer at Aria. The couple has one daughter, Jennifer, who is finishing her last year of graduate school at the Southern California College of Optometry.

Developed by The Howard Hughes Corp., an affiliate of General Growth Properties Inc., Summerlin began to take shape in 1990 and is celebrating its 20th anniversary with a year-long celebration that commenced in May.

Homes are available in a variety of styles -- from single-family homes to townhomes, condominiums and lofts -- priced from the mid $100,000s to more than $2 million.

For more information on Summerlin, visit summerlin.com, become a fan at facebook.com/summerlin or call 791-4500.