“Take each day one at a time and be grateful.”

 

That’s Earle Russell’s daily philosophy. You can tell that Earle lives by these words as he wears a big smile every day.

Earle has worked for The Society of St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store Operations for 20 years.  Earl manages the drivers and warehouse team members serving the Orland Park and Libertyville stores plus servicing the drop boxes at locations throughout Chicagoland and furniture pick-ups for the Society. Earle started working for The Society of St. Vincent de Paul through a Catholic Charities program where he was able to demonstrate his work ethic and capabilities to earn him a full-time position.

“The team is great! My guys are excellent workers and all get along well,” comments Earle as he talks about what he likes about his role. “We always work together and tackle everyday work plus the special requests that come up often.” Earle likes that he gets to work outside rather than sitting in an office all day and he LOVES to drive. He likes that his job involves using his hands. Earle likes to team up with his brother, Holmes who is also on the Team.

Earle credits his mom, Ernastine, for teaching him respect as a child. Earle and his wonderful wife, Karen, inspire and take care of each other. During our interview, Earle shared a text with a loving message that his wife sent that day. Earle has a son in Texas, a daughter in the Chicago area and four grandchildren.

“You better smile, laugh and find joy every day,” shares Earle. He loves working with a great group of people and speaks highly of his managers and Lorraine Parisi, Director of Operations. “A good boss inspires you.” The most surprising situation Earle has encountered on the job is finding a man sleeping in a drop box. It really helped him think about what life is about and how important the mission of the Society is to help others.

Earle enjoys vacationing in Wisconsin with his wife but what is high on his Bucket List is to travel to Las Vegas again where he loves all the lights, sites and excitement. Earle reminds us to be grateful every day.