Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 5/12/16. Monica Burke speaks during a luncheon about a class for seniors educating them on how to prevent falls and what to do in case they happen while at the Avondale Youth and Family Development Center on Thursday, May 12, 2016. James and Mildred Moreland came to the Avondale Youth and Family Development Center to support area seniors striving for healthier lifestyles.
But the seniors, the center staff and city officials came to surprise the couple who have poured their lives into the people of Avondale and Chattanooga since 1992, when James Moreland retired from DuPont at age 48.
“The greatest honor we have as elected officials is not just to recognize our communities, but to recognize individuals who make a community what it is. There is no better example that I can think of than Mr. and Mrs. Moreland and everything they have given over the years to individuals, to their community,” said City Councilman Ken Smith.
He spoke after the Morelands were given a framed photo illustration of themselves titled “Healers of the Heart.” The presentation was made by Smith, Barbara Readnower of Youth and Family Development and Hamilton County Commissioner Warren Mackey.
Moreland said he believes God enabled him to retire early so he could help people without having to worry about money.
“You hear people say, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,'” Moreland said. “Then the question becomes, ‘Who is a part of the village?’ The next question is, ‘What is my role in the village and what am I going to do?’ Doing nothing is not an option.”
The couple, married 52 years, worked within the Avondale Neighborhood Association to help the East Chattanooga area receive a five-year, $1 million Weed and Seed grant for community improvement. The existing East Chattanooga Improvement Corp. grew up after the grant ended.
Moreland also founded Healing On Both Sides, a support group to help parents of homicide victims and parents of children in prison.
The couple helped bring attention to high blood pressure and obesity problems afflicting residents in East Chattanooga and Alton Park, and worked to reduce prostitution and open drug deals across the city.
“I’m here to tell you that in all of this district, in all of these communities, there is nobody, nobody who impacts the lives of those communities; there is not a family more involved,” said Mackey.
After hugs and handshakes of appreciation, Monica Burke, the Morelands’ daughter, commended area seniors for participating in A Matter of Balance, a city- and East Chattanooga Improvement Corp.-sponsored program to keep seniors from falling and teach them how to respond if they do. The eight-week course ended Wednesday.
Burke is program manager of the East Chattanooga Improvement Corp. and Matter of Balance master trainer.
Participants raved so much about the program’s usefulness that County Commissioner Marty Haynes suggested it be implemented for seniors in Hixson.
“We have a lot of senior ladies who live alone, and it would be great to have this in some of our churches,” said Haynes.
Contact staff writer Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.