The Dunstan Arm Rowing Club stalwart has received a volunteer recognition award from Rowing New Zealand and he said there was not much he had not done in the sport.
Over 57 years he has rowed, coached, been club captain, club president, commentated, helped establish a new clubrooms for the Dunstan club and also become proficient at repairing rowing boats.
The Dunstan club was previously called the Alexandra club and was based in clubrooms alongside the Clutha River in Alexandra.
After the clubrooms were flooded, Mr Mills was central in the establishment of the club's current clubrooms, on the shores of Lake Dunstan, in 1995, when the club was renamed the Dunstan Arm Rowing Club. The Dunstan clubrooms' boat park [storage area for boats] was named the Russell Mills Boat Park, with an accompanying plaque.
The nomination for Mr Mills said rowing had ''been in his blood'' for most of his life.
He started rowing in Alexandra aged 12, after his older brother Barry Mills ''dragged me along'' to be a cox for his team.
Competition and coaching followed, as well as a stint as club captain from 1969 to 1974. He was also club president from 1974 to 1991, and made a life member of the club in 1987.
In the 1990s Mr Mills moved into commentating, and was ''an instant success, bringing races alive with his enthusiasm and knowledge of clubs and individual rowers'', his nomination said.
He continues to commentate at rowing events at Lake Ruataniwha, and also still coaches ''the occasional crew'' in the Dunstan club.
''He is remarkable, and is a well known and well liked volunteer in the sport,'' the nomination said.
Mr Mills, who also received a Central Otago District Council community service award in 2005, said there had been many highlights during his time with rowing. They included starting off three Alexandra-Dunstan rowers who went on to international competition, Carl Meyer and brothers Michael and Todd Petherick; attending three world rowing championships to support New Zealand teams; and coaching one of the Dunstan teams when the Dunstan club scored three gold and one silver medals at the 1999 Maadi Cup and finished fifth overall in New Zealand.
He said the main changes in rowing during his time had been technical advances, and said the strength of Dunstan rowing was the commitment of its club and coaches.
He planned to keep contributing to rowing for as long as possible and thanked his family for their support of his rowing volunteering.
''I've always been involved with water. I'm always on the water or in it, it's when I'm happiest.''
