as coordinator and Nathan Whitaker has contributed a lot on leadership skills.” And, she adds, “I would absolutely recommend the program. If you want to make lifelong friends, grow your leadership skills, and help improve our industry, this would be the way to do it.”
Adam Russell – MVP Genetics
Adam is married to Sarah, an elementary school teacher. About nine years ago, the family moved to Cumming, GA, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, when Sarah accepted a teaching position there. “Cumming & Forsyth County has the best school system in Georgia,” says Adam. “It’s a public school that does an amazing job. Sarah loves it and our kids have blossomed there.”
Tose kids are daughters Aralyn, who is 16, and Layton, 12, and son Kellen, 11. Adam says, “Not growing up in traveling families, Sarah and I are giving the traveling experience to our kids. We’ve explored many places within the U.S., including Alaska this spring, and our whole family did the TPI trip to Germany.” Te zest for life experiences continues for the Russell family at home, too, with the kids involved in multiple activities ranging from competitive dance to flag football, art, and soccer.
Adam Russell is vice president of MVP Genetics, a division of Mountain View Seeds (MVS), the 24-year-old branch of parent company, Pratum Coop, based in Salem, Oregon. MVS handles the sales and processing of 80 million pounds of turfgrass seed a year. MVP Genetics was founded four years ago to launch IronCutter, MVP’s first vegetative (non-seeded) grass, and now offers a growing portfolio of warm-season species.
Adam heads a team of five in his role of planning, executing, and marketing the company’s vegetative grasses, a process much different in development than that of seeded grasses. Adam says, “Adding our division brings warm-season and cool-season turfgrasses under one group. And, for complete vertical integration, we’re paired with the company’s research, development, and breeding branch. Tat’s incredibly unique in the turfgrass world.”
Adam took a winding road to the turfgrass industry. He grew up in the rural area of the small town of Washington, Georgia, where his parents taught school. “We were surrounded by dairy cows and pine plantations, with a little nine-hole golf course just through the woods by our home. I’ve always been intrigued by nature and the interactions of the environment, so I majored in Landscape Architecture at the University of Georgia-Athens. An adjunct professor, who was also a golf course shaper, noticed my interest in golf and its impact on nature. He suggested I intern for Renaissance Golf Design in Traverse City, Michigan, working under the designer and architect, Tom Doak, at CommonGround Golf Course in Denver, Colorado.” Tat project clicked with Adam, and he planned a career in golf course architecture. “Te recession had other ideas,” he says. “I landed a sales position with Pennington Seed. Tey sent me to Florida, and I gradually moved up in the company. After more than seven years with Pennington, I accepted a position with MVS. Over my six years here, my position has evolved to my current role.”
TPI Turf News July/August 2023
Adam had taken part in a mini-MBA program and gained much from it. So, as one always seeking deeper involvement in the industry, applying for the Future Leaders Fellowship was a logical step. He says, “Tere’s a deep level of friendship within this group. I’ve connected with people from different parts of the country, different walks of life, working with different types of grasses, that would have taken me years to meet otherwise.”
Adam especially appreciates the multiplicity of the program: the Germany trip; the in-depth tour of Wade Wilbur’s Sod Shop operation, the upcoming lobbying visits in Washington, DC, and the one-on-one connection. “I was paired with Mark Graf of Tri-Tex Grass, ” says Adam. “He came to our Enid, OK, foundation farm and I traveled to Texas. Digging into their multi-farm operation, what they do, and why they do it was enlightening.” Adam adds, “Nathan Whitaker has been a great guru on leadership. Allie Shriver is the ultimate fixer; working through the processes, juggling the scheduling, and making it enjoyable.”
Adam highly recommends the program. “Tose involved sharpen their leadership skills, learn from each other, and form deeper connections, personally and professionally. It’s a very valuable tool for the individual, for TPI, and for the industry overall.”
Applications for the 2024 -2026 Future Leaders Fellowship will open this fall. If you’d like to apply, please email Allie Shriver at
ashriver@TurfGrassSod.org.
THANK YOU TPI FUTURE LEADERS FELLOWSHIP SPONSORS
Suz Trusty is co-editor of Turf News. 77
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
