Beaverdam school board member Scott Smith gave up his position on the board, saying he’d moved out of the district he’d been elected to represent. Board Chairman Chuck Francis said that Smith did a good job while he was there, and did the honorable thing by resigning.

Smith had finished a close second in the November 2016 municipal election to Ronnie Clark; Smith and Clark claimed the two open seats in that election, with Richard Lance coming in a distant third.

Lance, like Burnette, was one of three candidates to apply for the position; the third, Larry Harbin, had previously served on the school board and was vice-chairman.

But Harbin withdrew himself from consideration just prior to the candidates being interviewed by the board Dec. 14, saying he was pleased that there were other qualified candidates who could also assume the position.

Burnette, a 1978 Pisgah High School grad, went into retail management shortly after graduation, first at Mack’s department stores and then with regional grocer Bi-Lo. He has since 2010 been in management at the Telco Community Credit Union in Asheville, starting as a branch manager but rising to become CEO in 2016.

— By Cory Vaillancourt, Staff Writer