Virescit Vulnere Virtus (Courage Flourishes at a Wound)
The House of Burnett is the worldwide Burnett Society
House of Burnett
President
Chris Burnette
of Fort Collins, Colorado, USA.
Elected by House of Burnett Saturday, December 09, 2023.
Pictured here: Donald "Chris" Burnette at Horseshoe Park/Little Horseshoe Park near the Sheep Lakes inside Rocky Mountain National Park in beautiful Colorado, USA, where he and his family live.
Sheep Lakes is a meadow in Horseshoe Park, Rocky Mountain National Park. It's located at an elevation of 8,524 feet, between the Fall River Visitor Center and the turn-off for Fall River Road.
Chris Burnette
A brief Biography of the House of Burnett President
Chris was born in Merced, California, at the Castle Air Force Base Hospital to Beverly and Terry Burnette, a former Air Force Staff Sergeant, in 1974. After their tour in California was over, they returned to their home in Southeast Tennessee’s Appalachian Mountains. He spent his childhood years in his hometown of Cleveland, Tennessee, where he eventually graduated from Cleveland High School before setting out on his own. Being from Appalachia, Chris's roots go deep in America, tracing back to the Jamestown Colony on one side and, more importantly, one of the Colonial Virginia/North Carolina Burnett families (Rutherford County Burnett DNA Group) on the other. Currently at the helm of the House of Burnett, he took the reins as President in January 2024 after serving on the Board of Directors since 2012.
This role is not entirely new to him, as Chris has worn many hats over the years, blending a unique mix of whiskey-making, law, public service, and nonprofit management with a desire to serve his community. Armed with a Juris Doctor degree from Saint Louis University School of Law, Chris has also honed his skills, earning a Master's degree in Nonprofit Administration & Public Management from Lindenwood University and a Bachelor's in American Political Studies from Northern Arizona University. Beyond that, he has many years of experience working with and for nonprofits, government agencies, and the private sector, supporting his community however he could. What else would an Eagle Scout and Air Force Veteran from the backwoods of Tennessee do with his professional career?
Earlier in life, as a Master Distiller and attorney, Chris ran a consulting company that focused on craft distilling and other farm-based industries. Here, he dished out legal, business, and manufacturing consulting services to the spirits industry, championing craft distilleries, family farms, and other farm-based companies in the United States. Chris also served on the Board of the Burnett and Tuli Spirit Company of Nagpur, India, ran the family’s 200-acre farm, and served as the President and Distiller for Missouri’s first craft farm distillery since prohibition. As if that wasn't enough, at the same time, he was serving on or advising the Boards of several nonprofits, including helping to found the Colorado Craft Spirits Guild and the Missouri Craft Spirits Guild.
Currently, Chris is a go-to guy in the bureaucratic and nonprofit arenas, serving the communities he lives in locally, nationally, and globally.
But Chris isn't just about business; he enjoys whisk(e)y, writing, research, and sci-fi. And if you're looking for some light reading, check out his book, 101 Uses for Moonshine, published by Schiffer Publishing in 2016. It's a Hoot!
Chris and his wife, two boys, and trusty Border Collie call Fort Collins, Colorado, their home. Here, he continues to make ripples in conservation and land use planning, contributing his skills in project management, law, and program management to his community. He also enjoys strolls through the woods and a fine peaty single malt as a reward for the excursion afterwards, preferably in the mountains near a fire. You can plan on meeting him this year at any of the Highland games in Colorado.

House of Burnett
Past President
2021-2023
Terry Burnett
of Greenville, South Carolina, USA.
Elected by House of Burnett Saturday, December 05, 2020.
Pictured here is Terry and Sally Burnett and their pup, Lily.
Terry Burnett
A brief Biography of the Past House of Burnett President
Terry Burnett was born in Gadsden, Alabama in 1957. He graduated from Belhaven College in 1979 with a degree in Christian Education. He then served as a youth pastor and taught high school history and government for many years in Gadsden until he found a new calling in the law.
In 1989, he graduated from the University of Alabama School of Law. Terry then moved to Greenville, South Carolina where he practiced law with Haynsworth, Baldwin, Johnson, and Greaves until 1994.
Then Terry became the Publications Director for the South Carolina Bar Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Division. In 2002, he was promoted to the CLE Director and has continued to serve in that role ever since.
Terry is married to Sally Burnett, and between them, they have four children and twelve grandchildren (22 years to 10 months). He first got involved with the House of Burnett at the 2018 Grandfather Mountain Games when he met Jim Burnette and John Burnett and has been the South Carolina House of Burnett Convener since 2019. He has also written several articles for the Burnett Banner, including articles on Burnetts in the American Revolution, the Brothers Burnett highland games athletes, and most recently on his father’s World War II military career.
Terry enjoys spending time with his family, camping, doing good deeds for his communities, researching and writing about Burnett's and their histories, and convening games, gatherings, and events for House of Burnett.