Athlete. 

Advocate.

Leader. 

Marc Burnett. 

If you’ve ever met this Influential Person, you’ve likely walked away feeling grateful. There is a warmth to Marc that isn’t easy to explain but is palpable when you’re in his presence. 

From his days as an athlete (he scored the first basket in the Hooper Eblen Center, is the only five-time captain in NCAA history, and has been inducted into multiple athletic halls of fame) through the 36 years he worked at Tennessee Tech University (28 as VP of Student Affairs), to his role as Director of Development for Mustard Seed Ranch (interdenominational Christian ministry designed to take children out of unsafe environments), Marc Burnett has and continues to use the leverage hard work and dedication have afforded him to elevate those whose paths cross his own.

“I just love helping and serving people, period,” he stated. “I was an at-risk child, and it seemed as if at every point in my life when I needed assistance, someone was there to lend a hand. I learned over time that the least I could do was return the favor to whoever needed my assistance. It’s a good night’s sleep when I close my eyes, thankful that I had another opportunity to serve someone.”

While a standout basketball player at Alcoa, and a student-athlete whose life could have easily gone a different route, Marc learned the value positive role models have in shaping or redirecting the course of an individual’s life. Throughout his tenure at TTU, and now in a leadership position at Mustard Seed, the mission of being a positive voice for those teetering on the edge remains a compass, directing the way he lives each day. 

Burnett said, “As a member of the Student Affairs Division I always enjoyed interacting with students, hearing about and hoping to play a positive role in seeing them achieve their goals and objectives; student success was an imperative.” He continued, “My interest in Mustard Seed Ranch was not only business, it was personal as I wanted to do all I could to help kids, especially those considered at risk due to situations largely beyond their control. (At a certain juncture of my life. I was certainly considered at risk) so my heart goes out to those people who don’t necessarily need a handout, just need a hand up.”

To try and sum up such an impactful life in a simple article would be a fool’s’ errand, but in short, Marc Burnett is a good man.  

He loves through action. 

He’s been married to his wife Tammie for 41 years. 

He runs toward hurt. He is passionate, faithful, and kind. 

Cookeville is forever changed because of the way Marc has served and loved. 

When asked what this city means to him, he stated, “It’s indeed an honor to have lived in a place with so much promise for the future, and to perhaps have played a small role in its development. I would like to say thank you to all of these persons who’ve helped me become the man that I am today, both at TTU and Cookeville in general. The future here is as bright as we endeavor it to be.”

Marc has shaped an uncountable number of lives by giving of himself, his time, his energy, and his heart, relentlessly. Cookeville, TN is a more beautiful place because Marc Burnett is here.

– written by Andrew Buckner, photos by Abby Weeden