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Russell Goode
A retired Chattanooga educator who played for the late opera singer Leontyne Price and gospel singer Mahalia Jackson is one of 12 people nominated as a “living legend” by the city’s Office of Multicultural Affairs.
“It’s nice to be recognized,” said Russell Goode, a classically trained musician who taught music for 30 years in the former Chattanooga city school system.
Living Legends is a tribute to local leaders who have made a positive impact on Chattanooga, said Dr. Barbara Medley, the Office of Multicultural Affairs interim executive director.
“It’s important for people to realize that they individually count,” she said. “Sometimes we feel like we’re invisible and our efforts don’t make a difference, but it does.”
The Office of Multicultural Affairs will select three award winners from the nominees. The winners will be honored at the second-annual Power of One Mayor’s Luncheon on April 3.
Eric Metaxas, author of “Amazing Grace: William Wilberforce and the Heroic Campaign to End Slavery,” will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon.
The Power of One luncheon brings together local organizations, nonprofit agencies and businesses to reaffirm the city’s commitment to making Chattanooga a welcoming, diverse and inclusive community, organizers said.
The luncheon showcases an individual’s ability to improve the community, Solomon Hatch, OMA’s community outreach coordinator, said.
“This is honoring people who took it upon themselves to bring about change,” he said.
Last year’s Living Legends were James Mapp, Ruth Holmberg and the Rev. Paul McDaniel.
Yolanda Putman has been a reporter at the Times Free Press for 11 years. She covers housing and previously covered education and crime. Yolanda is a Chattanooga native who has a master’s degree in communication from the University of Tennessee and a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Alabama State University. She previously worked at the Lima (Ohio) News. She enjoys running, reading and writing and is the mother of one son, Tyreese. She has also ...
