The Russell County Recovery Court recently hosted the first ever Tri-County Recovery Rumble. The event was held in celebration of National Recovery Month.
The Buchanan County and Dickenson County Recovery Courts also took part in the event.
Russell County Commonwealth’s Attorney Zack Stoots praised the efforts of Missy Carter, for not only making the Tri-County Recovery Rumble a success but also for her efforts in helping people get on the road to recovery.
“Missy Carter has been working as the Recovery Court Coordinator in Russell County for 13 years and also oversees the Community Work Program, which has been in operation since 2016,” he said. “During her tenure with both programs, Carter credits both programs’ success on being consistent in the program expectations for those who come into our care and the community support we have in Russell County for people in recovery.”
Carter stated, “This is the third year that Russell County has held this event — but in past years, we have only had our own participants and alumni compete in the games. Our peer recovery specialist, Alisha Yates, suggested we invite other programs this year and we made that happen.”
Carter added, “Programs from Buchanan County and Dickinson County both participated and I feel that the day was a huge success. Recovery is so much more than being sober. Sure, that’s a major part of it, but learning how to have fun again and learning how to interact with others is another life skill that I feel we need to pass along to the people that come through our programs. This event does just that.”
Carter started an alumni program for the program in Russell County in 2019. The alumni program is a place for graduates and prior participants to meet monthly for events and interact with others in the recovery community. Events include movies, dinners, painting classes, board game night and the Recovery Rumble. Russell County Alumni has approximately 30 active members and meets the third Saturday of every month.
In 2025, Carter also started Foundations for Success — monthly life skills classes — for participants in the Recovery Court Program. These classes have been very helpful to the participants but there was not a consistent location to hold them.
With the use of Opioid Abatement Authority funds, Carter was able to develop a classroom that will now host Foundations for Success classes for both Recovery Court and Community Work Program participants. Stoots said, “It was great to have the Recovery Court participants and team members from multiple counties come together for a fun day. Congratulations to the 2026 Recovery Rumble Champs, Buchanan County Recovery Court participants and alumni.”
