Not a Sheriff in Mayberry, but at Least an Authority Figure in Raleigh

Most of you are probably familiar with "The Andy Griffith Show," the television series from the early '60s that humorously depicts life in a fictional southern community. Remember the opening scene? Accompanied by the show's well-known whistled theme tune, Andy Griffith and an adolescent Ron Howard are seen in character walking side-by-side along a path carrying fishing gear. Opie stops to pick up a stone and then rejoins his father and the two walk to an opening in the trees to gaze upon a body of water. Opie throws the stone into the water.

 
Itron employee Lynn Burnette remembers the show not only for this depiction of slow-paced life, but for the unique characters that inhabit the fictional town of Mayberry.

"The show depicts the town that everyone would like to live in and the people we'd like to have in our lives," says Burnette. His nostalgia for Barney Fife and the gang has inspired his vast compilation of memorabilia related to the show including a full Mayberry village collection complete with Aunt Bee figurine. His enthusiasm not only for Andy Griffith, but for life, is present at work as well.

As an operations lead for Itron's MV-90 xi support group based in Raleigh, N.C., Burnette brings a certain charm to the workplace each day. Coincidentally, Raleigh is only a few hours away from Mount Airy, N.C., the town that many assume Mayberry was loosely based on. In Raleigh, Burnette works to resolve the more complicated user issues related to Itron's industry-leading software for commercial and industrial meter data collection and management. In fact, he's the first person his counterparts often go to for answers.

"Lynn always seems to know the who, what, where, when and why of our products," says Pam Sen, a senior product manager for Itron.

Lynn's long history with Itron lends to this repository of knowledge—he's been supporting the MV suite of products for over 14 years. In fact, he's been with the company longer than anyone else in the support group. "If it's a question from the DOS world, I'll often have the answer. That's how long I've been here," says Burnette.

His ability to easily find solutions for the harder issues customers face ultimately lends to his satisfaction at Itron. Making products work for customers is his greatest achievement.

Outside work, his greatest success is his family. His devotion to his wife and daughter has even persuaded him to start collecting a different type of memorabilia. He's now an avid collector of High School Musical and Hannah Montana items. It's no threat to his pride though. He proudly drinks his beloved sweet tea out of his High School Musical cup every day. And there's an added bonus— if his cup goes missing, everyone knows whose it is.