Leonard W. Burningham is a tall, rangy guy, and you can just see him cooking up tubs full of turkey dressing to help feed the homeless during the holidays.
It's something the securities attorney has been doing since 1989, and this year, he wants every attorney in Salt Lake County, if not the state, to provide a full meal for those in need.
And why not? "There are more attorneys than there are people," he jokes.
It's not just about food, either: Burningham, his family, friends, lawyers, firms and court personnel also will, as they have in the past, collect clothing, household goods and personal care kits for those who need them.
OK, OK, I can hear the lawyer jokes already. But this is a good thing.
It all started that first Thanksgiving, when Burningham was alone, his family out of town. He went out and bought a couple of cases of eggnog and headed for the Eagle Ranch Ministries' Jennie Dudley and her makeshift kitchen under the 400 South viaduct.
There were hams and turkeys and luscious pastries, he said. But the meal needed mashed potatoes and particularly dressing, which Burningham, an avid cook, considers to be one of his specialties.
Through the years, Burningham's crusade expanded to the Rescue Mission, the YWCA's shelter for abused women and children and the Utah Food Bank.
"It just kind of grew," Burningham says. "Court administrators, secretaries, paralegals, everybody helped."
Lincoln Mead, IT director at the Utah Bar Association, has worked with Burningham for about a decade.
"He's a really, really engaged guy who absolutely loves what he does," Mead says. "He's never lost his enthusiasm for this project. Every year he drives a little farther and a little harder."
At 68, Burningham still works at his Salt Lake firm along with his two grown sons, but tries to leave the office at about 2:30 p.m. to meet up with his 9-year-old after school for taekwondo and homework.
His work, the food-and-clothing project and his family are the fruit of "all the dreams you have when you're 25," Burningham says. "It's amazing."
And it's not just his own kids who get Burningham's attention, Mead says. One day, he mentioned that his son had gotten interested in all things military, and a couple of months later, the boy started getting Armchair General magazine, courtesy of Burningham.
"He catches on to things like that and just takes action on it," Mead says. "We see it at the food and clothing drive... there's a huge crowd behind him, helping out."
The "Twentieth Annual Lawyers & Court Personnel Food & Winter Clothing Drive for the Less Fortunate" wraps up on Dec. 18.
For information on how and when to participate, e-mail Burningham at lwb@burninglaw.com.
