Warm, witty, charming. Those are just some of the words that describe Bill Russell, founder of Russell Landscape Group–one of the most famous landscape companies in the Southeast.
As a young boy, Russell wasn’t as familiar with the world of beautifying and perfecting landscapes. He was raised on a farm just forty miles south of Nashville, Tennessee and helped manage his family’s livestock, crops, and financials. From an early age, he adopted a “toil in the soil” mindset, understanding the value of hard work and work ethic from his father and gaining his faith in God from his mother.
Russell was also involved in the Tennessee walking horse industry and ambitioned to continue working in it and become a veterinarian when he grew up. Being the eldest of thirty-five grandchildren, he found no shortage of friends at Sunday lunch gatherings, which often inched upwards of a hundred family members. Russell, during high school, seldom ventured beyond Tennessee, so the thought of leaving all the familiar faces of family members behind to attend a college in Kentucky was quite overwhelming. Even though deeply homesick, he remained enrolled for some time–until his father realized he wasn’t attending classes.
With his lagging interest, Russell dropped out and returned to the farm. Shortly thereafter, Russell was drafted into the army, where he served two years which included being on the 6th Army military funeral team and a tour of Vietnam. Upon honorable discharge, he felt much more prepared to give college another go. This time, he enrolled in Middle Tennessee State University, hoping to stay close to the local Tennessee walking horse industry and attend veterinary school.
Growing up, Russell witnessed several of his family members serving public office, with one even being elected as secretary of education under two U S presidents. Leveraging them as inspiration, Russell served in student government in college, became president of his fraternity…
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