My name is Cheryl Russell, and I currently reside in Bristol, Tennessee. I am a mother of four children — Adrienne, Bethany, David and Victoria. In 1984 I graduated from Baptist Nursing School, and I am a retired Open Heart Surgery nurse. For many years, I have been active in the community and schools volunteering at such organizations as Healing Hands, BTCS, Bristol Republican Women and the Sullivan County Republican Party. I belong to Liberty Baptist Church in Bristol, and my hobbies include reading, fitness and travelling. My greatest joys are my children.
What was your first job?
My first job was being an assistant at my dad’s decorating store in Knoxville. This was a small family owned business, which had been his dream for many years. As soon as I was old enough, I joined my brother and my sister helping out my dad in his store. We carried paint, wallpaper and general home maintenance supplies.
Tell us a bit about your responsibilities at this job.
When I was young, I was just responsible for stocking shelves. As I got older, my dad trusted me more. I could actually assist customers in finding wallpaper, mixing paint and tallying the receipts daily.
How did you get this job?
My dad was a high school dropout. Employment was sporadic for him, but he was an awesome home decorating worker. When my sister and I were in high school, we all sat at the kitchen table and had a family meeting discussing the pros and cons of running our own place. The idea was crazy, but it’s what he loved doing and wanted to give it a try. With a small loan and luck, we opened the business. Pretty soon everyone in the family became the store workers. My Dad found his children as cheap reliable workers, and we were in the store every day after school and every Saturday.
What did you love or hate about it?
The aspect I loved the most was meeting and interacting with the customers. I grew up as an extremely shy child. I did not meet new people or make new friends easily, but this business gave me the opportunity to practice and overcome this fear. At some points, my dad would make me responsible for helping customers match colors or decide on decorating ideas. Being forced to interact with so many strangers helped me to overcome this fear, and I grew to love meeting and assisting them with their decorating needs.
I disliked the pay the most. We were his children, so instead of a wage, my dad saw a roof over our heads and beds to sleep in as a paycheck. The rest of our pay was a Krispy Kreme doughnut for breakfast, and a Hardee’s roast beef sandwich for lunch. Since this was a family business, all profits were returned to the shop to help with making it a success.
What do you do now?
Currently, I am a Sullivan County Commissioner. I would not be where I am today without my dad and his decorating store. Working around the store and helping customers not only helped me overcome my fear of strangers, but also helped me to develop a passion for it. I found that I loved helping people, and I knew I wanted to dedicate my life to helping others improve theirs.
What advice would you give yourself if you could go back in time?
My greatest advice would be to always follow your dreams. I saw my dad have a dream, take all of our savings and then use this to make a successful small business. Even in the toughest days of when we didn’t have one penny of profit, I wouldn’t trade the family bond that developed from this business. There were so many reasons for my dad not to pursue his dream — his level of education, the difficulty of running a store, or the lack of a guaranteed profit. But he ignored all of that “logic” to pursue something he was passionate about, and that became a dream for the entire family. I wish I could say my dad’s dream ended in a success story. Unfortunately, five years after opening his decorating store, we did have to close. And that’s when I learned my second piece of advice about dreams. In life it is not guaranteed you will succeed, so have a plan for the future.
http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/my-first-job-cheryl-russell/article_e799d5f0-1977-507c-a498-1d88955da85d.html
