Bart Russell is calling it a career after 18 years running Connecticut’s leading small-town advocacy organization.
Russell, 62, and a Bloomfield resident, will retire Monday as COST executive director, the Connecticut Council of Small Towns in West Hartford said Tuesday.
COST said Russell’s successor will be named shortly. It represents 115 suburban and rural towns and small cities throughout Connecticut.
Before COST, Russell also spent 18 years as the founding executive director of the National Association of Towns and Townships in the nation’s capital. He also was president of the organization’s education arm – The National Center for Small Communities.
NATaT represents more than 12,000 municipalities.
Last week, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other top state and civic leaders and lawmakers honored Russell, presenting him with a proclamation.