townview:
AldermanDrewBurnette
As your newest alderman, I am proud to represent the Town of Farragut. I was born and raised in Farragut and consider it an honor and privilege to serve this well-established and growing community. Allow me to introduce myself, give you some background and share my vision for this town I love.
Born six months after Farragut was incorporated, I have lived my entire life here. I am a product of the Farragut school system from primary through high school. From a very young age I realized that Farragut is a special place and began to take great pride in this area. Riding my bike, playing on the fields at Anchor Park, blue light specials at K-Mart, Super Saturdays at Putt-Putt, parties in the Good Times room at Mr. Gatti’s – these are the activities that filled my joyful childhood. The Town of Farragut has been an anchor in my life story.
Upon graduating from Farragut High School, I received a scholarship to play football at Carson--Newman where I graduated with my bachelor’s in 2003. My major was human exceptionalities under the special education designation. I had planned to be a special education teacher upon graduating but my college work experience changed the direction of my career.
During college I started working for American Communications, a Farragut-based company, selling cell phones to college students. Before I graduated college, I received a job offer from Eli Lilly in sales. It was an offer I couldn’t pass up and this transition changed my professional career.
Today I am a regional vice president of sales for Olympus Corporation of the Americas. While I thoroughly enjoy what I do, I still have a passion for serving and working with people with disabilities. I met my wife while in college on a mission trip to South Africa. It was my third trip to South Africa and my wife came with a friend from our church. Once we returned to the United States we started dating and within the year became engaged.
A couple of years after we got married, we started our family. We have now been married for fifteen years and are blessed to have five kids – four boys and the youngest a girl. Their ages range from 6 years old to 23 years old. Two of our five kids entered our family through adoption and they are amazing additions! My faith, family, and community are the most important aspects of my life.
My priorities are:
• Strong parks: Farragut is known for its parks. I want to build upon this strength and make it even greater. In particular, I want to focus on the McFee Park expansion. This park is one of our town’s greatest assets and I will work diligently to make sure the next phase is completed in a timely manner and based on the feedback and responses we have received from town residents.
•An all-inclusive playground in Farragut: Per my background in special education, I have a passion for serving children and adults with special needs. I brought the idea of an all-inclusive playground to the board at our staff retreat and will be working to find out how this vision can fit within our town’s future parks master plans. Many of you have already reached out in support of this idea. The next steps are discovering options for the location of and funding for this innovative type of playground.
• Being a voice for young families: As an alderman, I am committed to listening to your voices and basing our plans on the needs of the town residents. Through my first six months, I have worked diligently to gain feedback on decisions affecting our town and ensuring I am accurately communicating your voice through my actions and votes. I am here to represent you and will make it my duty to continue to represent you as long as I am in this position.
• Future use of the community center: The property we have designated as a community center on Jamestown Boulevard will serve this community in a big way! We are in the process of deciding what services will be offered at the facility, and that is where I will be relying on you! We’ve already got some feedback, but I want to continue hearing from residents on what services you would like to see at the facility.
• Establishing a town center: Farragut continues to seek a location to designate as a town center. Our desire is to develop a destination where town residents and visitors can come shop, dine, and relax. Additionally, this area would be a mixed-use residential space that would provide residents with activities such as walking, shopping, and a distinctive dining experience.
In closing, Farragut is a close-knit, well-connected community that is focused on families. I will work diligently to keep Farragut a wonderful place to raise a family by: 1) ensuring our developments fit our core strengths and values; 2) continuing to improve and expand our beautiful parks; and 3) promoting the expansion of our sidewalks and greenways.
Offering strategic leadership backed by the voice of younger families in the community, I will work to make sure their voices are heard while standing up for the issues that we are facing now and into the future.
Thank you for allowing me to take part in the future of our outstanding community.
