Columbus business leader, former Auburn football player Russ Carreker dies at 57
Columbus business leader and former Auburn University football player Russ Carreker has died.
Carreker, 57, was battling cancer.
Mayor Skip Henderson announced the news of Carreker’s death at Tuesday night’s Columbus Council meeting.
“Russ left his fingerprints all over this community,” Henderson said.
He was president of C3 Property Investments, but Carreker’s impact on the city stretched from the private to the public realm as chairman the past six years of the Columbus Development Authority and as the 3rd Congressional District representative on the Georgia Department of Transportation board since February 2021.
“I admired the way he did whatever he could to try to make this community better,” Henderson told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I admired him for the way he handled his business. I admired him for the way he worked with economic development. I admired him for the way he worked with transportation. And I admired him for the kind of dad and husband he was.”
Brian Sillitto, vice president for partnership and engagement at the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, described Carreker, who chaired the chamber’s board in 2008-09, as “a powerful force” in the local economy.
Columbus Council appointed Carreker to the Development Authority in 2014, and he became chairman in 2016. Since then, Sillitto said, companies announced 3,900 new jobs and $860 million in new investment locally during his chairmanship, including Pratt & Whitney’s expansion totaling 500 jobs and a $386 million investment.
“He was the type of leader that made us all better at our jobs, even though he was in a volunteer role,” Sillitto told the L-E. “He understood business, but he also understood what it took to move the needle. It wasn’t just one thing. It was many things that came together. He always had Columbus in mind, trying to improve Columbus. … His leadership is going to be missed.”
Other ways Carreker was involved in Columbus included Columbus 2025 Implementation Committee, StartUp Columbus, Boys & Girls Clubs of the Chattahoochee Valley, Columbus State University Foundation, National Infantry Museum, Magnolia Manor, Fellowship of Christian Athletes of West Georgia, Brookstone School community football coach and Auburn Football Lettermen’s Club.
Carreker played linebacker at Auburn from 1983-86. He was named the team’s most improved linebacker during the spring of 1985 and 1986.
The funeral will be Thursday at 4 p.m. at Grace Presbyterian Church, with visitation to follow, WRBL reported.
Staff writer Nick Wooten contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 26, 2022 at 1:27 PM.
