Russ Johnson
Russ Johnson, network manager in Information Services, is hanging up his keyboard and mouse to embark on a new adventure – retirement!
With his last day scheduled for May 3, Russ is eager to trade in his network cables for RV power cords. He and his wife, Diane, are seasoned RVers and look forward to extended road trips, exploring new places and spending quality time together.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I am the second youngest of 6 children. With a father in the Marines, we all felt a duty to serve our country. I enjoyed my time in the Air Force, but when these new devices called PCs came out in the mid-to-late ’80s I thought it would be fun to get into that career field, so I got a second job as a PC tech at a local computer store. Since there were no open jobs in that field in the Air Force, I left to pursue that career.
Russ and his family are avid travelers. They are pictured here on a trip to Disney World in 2023.
What brought you to Akron Children’s?
After working as a PC tech doing cabling, desktop support, server and network administration at Aultman Hospital for almost 17 years, I heard about a network engineer position at Akron Children’s in December 2006. I was familiar with working in a hospital environment, and I had worked with the hiring manager (Brian Kuner) who worked for me as a contractor at Aultman. I started at Akron Children’s in January 2007. I was one of only two network engineers working in IS. In 2009, I became network manager. It was a working manager position, so I got to keep my hands in networking at the time.
In what ways has Akron Children’s changed since you started here?
When I started, there were 27 IS employees; now we have about 250. The culture has stayed the same, which is incredible since fast-growing companies can sometimes change in ways you don’t recognize. Mr. Considine (retired CEO) and hospital leadership made that possible, and I enjoyed being engaged with them as we grew.
Russ and his wife, Diane, have been married for 38 years. They are seasoned RVers and look forward to traveling more now that Russ is retired.
What gave you the most satisfaction at work?
Definitely the staff. IS staff are so dedicated to their work. Although the work can be overwhelming, the job was always accomplished. Managing the Telecom team just reinforced that Akron Children’s hires the best people. It’s the relationships that you build that offset some of the stresses that come with the job.
What’s your most memorable moment or biggest contribution at Akron Children’s?
Having only three network engineers in 2008/2009, I had the responsibility to design and install the network at the Beeghly campus since we couldn’t dedicate multiple engineers to one project. It took about 6 months of work pulling out old cabling and equipment, establishing new data closets and installing all the network gear. I spent many long days working late only to drive an hour back home, but it was very satisfying and instilled a lot of pride accomplishing something that big on my own.
Russ and Diane’s 16-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Buddy will be a frequent companion on their travel adventures.
What do you look forward to the most in retirement?
My family are RVers, so we can travel across the country and have a different backyard every month. There are many places in the U.S. that I still haven’t seen and am anxious to spend an extended period at some of those places.
Tell me about your family?
I have been married for 38 ½ years and have 3 kids (Russell, Jason and Ashley). We have one granddaughter with a grandson coming in late May/early June. We also have a 16-month-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (Buddy) who is our substitute child now that the others are grown.
Do you have any advice for people just starting at Children’s?
Be open to the fast growth of the organization because your job may change accordingly. Don’t feel that what you did was enough to get the job done. Look to improve it or be forward thinking as to how it may change 3 to 5 years down the road.
