Celebrating the Career of Tech Pioneer Russell Mays

After nearly 33 years of dedicated service, LTADD is preparing to bid a fond, bittersweet farewell to our IT Director Russell Mays. When Russell first walked through our doors on Aug. 10, 1993, he was just 22 years old. To put that into perspective, the World Wide Web was barely out of its infancy, smartphones didn’t exist, and “googling” wasn’t a verb yet.

As Russell prepares for his well-deserved retirement on July 31, he leaves behind a connected digital landscape, one that he personally helped shape, protect, and advance for the entire Lincoln Trail region.

Throughout his three decades of service, Russell has been at the forefront of regional technological evolution. He didn’t just fix computers, he fostered LTADD into the cyber world. With every new digital advancement, Russell was there to provide education, guidance, and technical support to our cities and counties, constantly looking for efficiencies to keep our communities moving forward.

Russell leaves an enduring legacy of support, particularly through his work spearheading website development and administration. He turned what could have been a daunting technological shift into an affordable, accessible service, creating a system of direct IT support that our cities and counties rely on daily.

Russell’s career is marked by pioneering achievements that put LTADD on the map:

• 1996 NADO Innovation Award: Russell was instrumental in LTADD being awarded the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) Innovation Award for Regional World Wide Web Development. He built a one-stop internet connection for the region, creating affordable, direct connections that encouraged powerful partnerships and cooperative efforts.
• 1997 Elizabethtown Website Launch: Russell spearheaded the launch of the very first Elizabethtown website. He did this by facilitating a massive collaborative effort between the City, the Elizabethtown/Hardin County Industrial Foundation, and the Hardin County Chamber of Commerce (with Elizabethtown Tourism joining shortly after).

Behind the awards and the grand scale regional projects was a man dedicated to the daily operations of Team LTADD. Russell has been the backbone of our IT infrastructure, making sure every staff member had the tools and network stability required to serve our region.

Securing data and maintaining each city and county’s cyber protection as threats evolved wasn’t a 9-to-5 job. Russell routinely sacrificed his weekends, evenings, and planned time off to make sure LTADD and our regional partners never missed a beat. His dedication earned him the well-deserved title of Employee of the Month during his tenure, alongside the deep respect of everyone who worked with him.

But if you ask anyone around the office, they won’t just talk about his technical brilliance or his knack for keeping development costs affordable. They’ll talk about his wit.

“Russell has spent over three decades keeping our region securely connected, but his real superpower might just be his sense of humor,” Executive Director Daniel London said. “In the IT world, things inevitably break, servers go down, and panic sets in. Russell has this incredible ability to defuse high-stress situations with a perfectly timed joke, keeping us all laughing while he quietly works his magic in the background. He has looked out for Team LTADD through thick and thin, and replacing his technical expertise will be tough, but replacing his wit and presence in the office will be impossible.”

Russell, thank you for your 33 years of unwavering dedication, your selflessness, your visionary leadership, and for keeping us secure and laughing through it all. You have left a legacy that will keep this region moving forward for decades to come.

Please join all of us at LTADD in wishing Russell Mays a relaxing, happy, and incredibly well-deserved retirement!