Stephen V. Russell is an educator, historian, sports enthusiast, and public speaker known throughout the Mon Valley and beyond.  His prolific topics as a public speaker have run the course of presidential expert to analyst on ESPN Sports Classic presentations and Turner Classic Movies.  His unique bulletin board displays are widely recognized in the sports, Hollywood, and political hobby worlds.  In 1986, Mr. Russell served as official curator of memorabilia for the Hofstra University Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Conference in Hempstead, Long Island, New York. In 2007, he was crucial in the planning of the Fiftieth Anniversary Festival of the film Raintree County in Danville, Kentucky, where many of the outdoor scenes of that film were shot.

 

Mr. Russell began his education at Monessen’s St. Leonard’s parochial school, followed by his secondary education in the Belle Vernon Area School District. In 1970, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education at California University of Pennsylvania, majoring in social studies. This was followed four years later by a Master of Arts degree from Duquesne University, majoring in 20th century United States history. In 1975, he received his principal’s certification from Duquesne and in 1979 his superintendent’s letter of eligibility from West Virginia University.

 

In 1970, Mr. Russell became a social studies teacher at Monongahela High School in the Ringgold School District.  In 1976 he was appointed assistant high school principal at Belle Vernon Area School District. Two years later, he was promoted to the position of principal of Bellmar Junior High School, a position in which he served thirty-one years.   In November 2008 Mr. Russell was named to his current position as Belle Vernon Area School District superintendent of schools.

 

Mr. Russell’s views his interests and his professional life as legacies of his father, Jim Russell, a major league baseball player in the 1940s, and who was on both the Rostraver Township Board of Education and the Belle Vernon Area School Board.  In 1970, Mr. Russell was employed by one of his father’s former teams, the Pittsburgh Pirates, as an usher and later as a ticket seller, a position he still enthusiastically holds.  He also works game days in the ticket office for both the Pittsburgh Steelers and for Pitt Panthers football.

 

Mr. Russell’s comprehensive book about Mid Mon Valley sports heroes appeared in 2001, and since 1994 he has served as general chairman of the Mid Mon Valley All Sports Hall of Fame. 

 

He has made numerous contributions to cultural projects including books and articles, television appearances, and in-service professional presentations.  He is the recipient of the following awards: 1996 American Political Items Collector’s Torchbearer; 1999 Mid Mon Valley Sports Hall of Fame Appreciation; 2002 Pavlak/Shutsky Special Service certificate, California University of Pennsylvania; 2005 Belle Vernon Area Football Hall of Fame Honoree; 2009 Mon Valley River Cruise Communities - Rostraver Chamber Honoree; and 2009 Mon Valley Greater Chamber of Commerce Shining Star.