2012

Moodys striving to meet 'Special Needs' with ECCC Scholarship From press reports

cate of attendance in May 1984 and after residing in several area group homes has gained his independ– ence and fu11-time employ– ment. "Desiring independence for himself, Robert became the first residence at The Mustard Seed, Inc., a pri– vately run group home in Flowood, in 1986," Ann said. "He resided t here and worked at the sheltered workshop for approximately six years before moving to a Hudspeth Center grou p home in Meridian. While there, Robert gained em– ployment with Wal-Mart in their garden center. He cur– rently resides in the Louisville Group Home also run by theHuspeth Center. He trans ferred to the Lou isville Wal-Mart and continues to work there as a door greeter." Ann added , "Physically closer to his family, Robert is now able to interact with hometown family and friends regula rly and at– tend his 'h ome' church , Good Hope Baptis~ on a weekly basis. He cont inues t o receive life skills a nd ed– ucational t raining through teachers and other workers at the Hudspeth Center fa– cilit y . He is loved a nd in – spired by a ll that know h im." Befor e establishing t h e Hchola rAh ip , Robert J. (Bobby) Moody, S r. ser ved in the Mississippi House of Represen tatives from 1981 to 2002 . As a freshman member of t he education

Their experience in rais– ing a developmentally chal– lenged son gave Bobby and Ann Moody of Louisville the ins1ght into the impact t hat special education can have in determining quality of life, productivity, and max– imum independence for spe– cial needs students. · "Because of our son, Robert, we recognized the importance in training teachers to work with chil– lren with special needs to make sure that these stu– tents have every opportu– hlly to become productive citizens," said Ann. To assist in that traming, tht' Moodys, in 2010, estab– lished the Robert J . Moody, ,Jr., Special Education Sc:holarship at Eas t Central Community College in De– C'atur, which is presented l'ac h year to a sophomore l'rom Wins ton County, who ~ ~ pur s uing a degree with an emphasis in special edu – t·at lon. The scholarship is named t n honor of Robert Jackson \ 1oody, J r . Robert was born o n Febnuuy 24 , 1965 with 110 npparcnt problems but 11 t .1 gc two-and-a-half, h e t:nr iPd having severe, un– <'•m t.rolla hlc seizures. Th ese · ~ tz ll t'I'H, a long with other t;om pll t'a t ions, ev<• ntua lly c;U II >

Maner IEcelves MooaJ Scholarship East Central CommunityCollege sophomore EmilyMarler (second from left), a graduate ofMorton High School, is there– cipient of the Robert J. Moody, Jr. Special Education SCholarship. Pictured with the recipient are Bob~ and Ann Moody of Louisville,who established thescholarship in honoroftheirson. The awaJd was presented duringtheannual AT&TSCholar– ship Awards Programheld June 8 in Huff h.ldltorium and followed ~a luncheon in Mabry Memorial cafeteria. Duri~ the 2012ewnt.l36 students received 111 ei'IOONed or annual scholarships totalingapproximately $74,000 in value. (EC PhOO>)

strumental in creatin g a job coach program t o assist t r aining specwl needs adults to work tn the pri– vate sector. The Moodys hope th at re– cipien t s of t h e schola rship will continue the legacy t hey h ave begun. "Our advice to sch olar– sh ip recipients is to be p re– pared for t he hear taches that go a long w1th serving speci al needs individuals, bu t a lso an ticipate immeas– u rable rewards. We hope t h at they (the sch olarship recipients) w ill

con tinu e the legacy we h ave begun t o facilit ate the p roductivity a nd self-wor th of developmentally chal– lenged individuals," Bobby said. "We appreci ate East Central Community Col– lege's assistance in allow– ing us, t hrough t hem, to encourage students to con– s ider th e oppor tunities and rewards of special educa– tion." The 2012 recip ient of the Robert J . Moody, J r., Spe– cial Education Schol arship is Emily Ma rler , a gradu– ate of Morton High School.

committee, h e was a ble to get an emph asis placed on adequate education for spe– cial needs students. Also, as the Chairman of P ublic Healt h and Welfare for 12 years and as subcommittee chairma n of appropriations for men tal health and voca– tional rehabilitation, h e was instrumental in pu sh– ing t h rough and fu n ding legi s lation to create more t han 50 group homes a n d sh el tered workshops strategically loca ted t hroughout the state of Mississippi. He was also in-