The Urbanna Oyster Festival Foundation has named 100-year-old Russ Russell of Urbanna as captain of the 69th annual Urbanna Oyster Festival set for Friday and Saturday, Nov. 6 and 7.
Urbanna Oyster Festival Foundation (UOFF) official Joe Heyman announced the centenarian’s selection last week. He said Russell was a pioneer in efforts to Restore Urbanna Creek and set an example for later environmental efforts to clean up the creek.
During the 1980s and 1990s, Russell was president of the Friends of Urbanna Creek, a group that no longer exists. The group monitored water quality in the creek once a week for 10 years as part of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay Citizens Monitoring Program.
