Randi Burrell worked for Iowa Energy; she's still an important employee for Iowa Wolves

It’s less than two hours before Wednesday's game between the Iowa Wolves and Birmingham Squadron when Randi Burrell wanders over to the scorer’s table and starts tapping some buttons on a board. Burrell, Iowa’s vice president of operations, is setting the official game clock for that night’s Gatorade League game.

“I think tonight is on ESPN+ so I definitely need to be on time,” Burrell said.

The timer is set to make sure everything is on schedule leading up to the tip. It’s one of the many duties Burrell has over the course of a day. The 40-year-old has been an important part of the gameday process since the team's first game in 2007, when they were known as the Iowa Energy.

“Thank God our staff has grown over the years,” she said.

Burrell is the last remaining employee from the team’s Energy days. She works behind the scenes, but is perhaps the organization’s most valuable staff member because of her experience and expertise.

“She's seen things from Day 1 till now,” said Ryan Grant, Iowa’s president of business operations.

Burrell agrees to volunteer but ends up working full-time with the Iowa Energy

Burrell was supposed to be a volunteer in Des Moines.

The Virginia native had spent two seasons working for the Roanoke Dazzle, one of the original members of the NBA’s Development League, when she heard about the upstart team in Iowa called the Energy. The team, which hadn't played a game yet, needed some assistance for its first few contests. Burrell had plenty of experience and was willing to help.

“I knew it would be crazy busy and all hands on deck,” Burrell said.

Before Burrell even got to Iowa, she heard about a full-time job opening with the team, handling gameday operations, helping with the website, and doing some work in community relations. Burrell was interested. So she came to Iowa and interviewed with then-owner Jerry Crawford. Burrell visited the arena during an Iowa Stars hockey game to see what it was like.

Burrell loved what she saw and took the job about two weeks before the Energy's first game.

Burrell did a little bit of everything at first. She got out in the community and tried to build interest in the team. She worked on the team's website, sold tickets, and even answered the phone at the team’s offices at Veterans Auditorium.

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“It didn’t really matter what your title was,” Burrell said. “You were helping.”

Burrell said there were about six full-time employees with the team back then. It led to long days and lots of hours. But Burrell got a front-row seat for some exciting times.

Burrell witnesses some of the franchise's biggest moments

Burrell runs the scorer’s table during games and makes sure the game's presentation goes smoothly. She makes sure all the ads are read, music is played at the right time, and everything else happens on time. It’s given her the best view for some memorable moments.

Burrell was working the team’s first game on Nov. 26, 2007, when the Energy beat the Dakota Wizards 101-99 before a then-league-record crowd of 8,842. She’s been courtside when stars such as Jeremy Lin (before Linsanity hit the NBA) played in Des Moines.  Burrell got a championship ring when the Energy won the 2011 D-League title. She was a few feet away from Steph Curry when the Golden State Warriors played an exhibition game in Des Moines in 2014.

“There’s been a ton of good players,” Burrell said.

She's kept in contact with some of them as well as other big names that have been with the organization. Burrell worked for Chris Makris, the team’s general manager who went on to work in the front office with the Memphis Grizzlies. She worked alongside Nick Nurse, the Energy’s first coach who led the Toronto Raptors to an NBA championship in 2019. She still texts former Energy head coach Nate Bjorkgren, who works for Nurse in Toronto, when she needs advice. Burrell said she has bonded with some of the players who chat with her and others at the scorer's table when they get ready to check in.

Grant calls her the “backbone” of the team because of the institutional knowledge and experience she brings.

“She just makes us think about things as we try to push the envelope,” Grant said.

Burrell has seen first-hand all the changes the team has gone through. She watched the team change affiliations and worked directly with the Memphis Grizzlies before the franchise was sold to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

After unexpectedly moving to Iowa a decade and a half ago, Des Moines has become home. The team has become her family. And the arena has become an important part of her life.

“If you would have asked me then, I would have one thousand percent told you, 15, 16 years later that I would not still be in Des Moines. That would have been a hard ‘no way.’ But here I am. Still here.”

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018 and 2020 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468. Follow him on Twitter @TommyBirch.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Meet the only Iowa Wolves employee left over from the Iowa Energy days