Today, Russ is Director of Operations at UCC, where he claims to do “nothing in front of a mic.” Yet, it is Russ, as lead audio engineer with the tech team who runs the sound that is integral to every Sunday morning service. He is also in charge of purchasing and maintenance and technical issues, audiovisual and computer related, at the church and at Peace Cottage, plus organizer of meetups, eNews and marketing, all contributing to longer hours at UCC than at home.

All this and the musical More: Right after graduating from Clearwater High School, Russ started forming bands. He had wanted to play drums since 4th grade, but lessons were delayed until he was 13. (The school band director decided he should play trumpet.) For 13 years, the bands were his life while working in the corner service station (where he met Leddy), plus the odd jobs that he and fellow band members were hired to do to earn funds for recording studio time.

“I once knew two businesswomen who blessed and gave thanks for the cars they were driving. The first woman was driving a very old car. As she praised, blessed, and gave thanks for this car, rather than criticizing, or condemning it, her car functioned perfectly for her. As she continued to follow the example of Jesus in feeding the five thousand, by similarly praising and giving thanks for the substance at hand, it multiplied. In a short time, she was financially able to buy a new car and was given an amazingly generous trade-in allowance on the old one.