North Andover Official Recognized For Gas Disaster Efforts

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — When gas explosions rocked North Andover on Sept. 13, Laurie Burzlaff headed to North Andover High School and worked into the late night hours helping seniors and other residents get situated. In the months that followed, in her role as executive assistant to former Town Manager Andrew Maylor, Burzlaff organized disaster relief as thousands of town residents remained displaced from their homes. For those efforts, she was named this month to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women’s Unsung Heroines list for 2019.

"The Unsung Heroines are women who don’t make the news, but make the difference," state Rep. Christina Minicucci, who nominated Burzlaff, said in a statement. "These women are the glue that keeps a community together and every community is better because of their contribution."

Burzlaff, who holds a law degree and graduated from North Andover High School in 1985, has been in her current position since 2014. The 130 women named to the list were honored at a state house ceremony on June 18.