EMERSON E. RUSSELL
* Born: Fort Pierce, Fla.* Age: 69* Background: Reared in Chattanooga, East Ridge High School graduate, studied polygraphy at Texas A&M* Company: ERMC (Emerson Russell Maintenance Co.)* Services: Security, maintenance, janitorial, landscaping* Employees: 5,000, including 400 in Chattanooga
Entrepreneurs do things differently from others and they understand “the importance of what’s worth chasing,” Chattanooga’s new top manager said Wednesday.
“We try to create jobs, try to do something different. That sets us apart from everybody else,” said Emerson E. Russell, chief executive of Chattanooga-based ERMC, as he became the city’s 31st Manager of the Year, selected by a collection of business groups.
Russell, 69, whose company employs more than 5,000 people providing security, maintenance, janitorial and landscaping services in 35 states, said entrepreneurs are visionaries and risk-takers.
“They think outside the box. They’re creators,” he told several hundred people at the Convention Center.