ALABAMA
'It's a joy to be able to help people'
There were children who had never seen a toothbrush, and children who weren’t always sure where they would spend the night. There were people who never dreamed they would have to ask for pubic assistance and people who had a hard time learning any other way of life.
In 44 years working in and operating programs that offer assistance to people, Horace Sims has seen plenty of needs and heard a lot of stories. But that’s why he’s loved his job, he said. It’s simple. “I have had the opportunity to help people here,” he said.
Sims has decided to retire after spending 44 years with the agency that has become the Community Action Agency of Talladega, Clay, Randolph, Calhoun and Cleburne Counties. His last official day on the job is Friday, and while there are mixed emotions, Sims says, “It’s time.”
The agency is an umbrella for many programs and includes Head Start, a weatherization program to upgrade housing, help paying utilities, computer classes and job training, child nutrition, food bank referrals, home gardening assistance along with transportation and prescription drug assistance.
The needs continue to be many and varied, Sims said, and as executive director for the agency since1997, the needs continue. The numbers of people turning to Community Action for help speak for themselves. And so do the increases in numbers during recent years of economic uncertainty. During the 2007-08 year, Community Action served 23,284 individuals. In just a year’s time, the number increased to 35,386.
Business and industry closings have probably been the driving factor, Sims said, with more people finding themselves out of work. “That’s what really hurts, to see people who have always taken care of themselves cope with having to find help,” he said. That, along with frustration of single parents, usually mothers, seeking help for themselves and their children, he added.
Many who walk through his door tell their stories through tears, driven from fear, being ashamed or from sheer desperation. That’s why Sims said he’s always kept boxes of tissues handy in the office, he knows the hurt people can be going through by the time they get to him and the Community Action staff.
The agency’s mission is to change lives, but not just through handing out assistance, but by alleviating the causes for needs. Overall, Sims said he has strived to “embody a spirit of hope, improve communities and make America a better place to live.” Sims is proud of the initiative the agency started through Head Start in recent years, working to help bring more father into active roles with their children. This year, the agency started a program with federal stimulus money totaling 1.2 million to place 90 people in jobs throughout the five county area served. The positions are temporary, but will hopefully provide training as well as possible permanent opportunities, Sims said.
Sims began his career with the agency as coordinator for the Summer Youth and School Out Program in 1967. He was soon promoted to assistant director and field coordinator for what later became Head Start. Prior to joining the agency, Sims served in the U.S. Army and attended six colleges and universities and also worked as a teacher. He also owner and operated a Dairy Queen in Ashland in his home county, Clay County.
Highlights of his career include April 1, 1994 proclaimed as “Horace Sims Day” in Talladega by Mayor Donald Hubbard and serving six years as president for the Alabama Head Start Association. He also received a personal letter from Coretta Scott King congratulating him on the speech he delivered for the Talladega Democratic Conference Martin Luther King Day Breakfast in 1992 and that same year, was voted as a member of Who’s Who Among Talladega by the Talladega Democratic Conference. He is a member of the Talladega County Alabama A&M Alumni Association and has served on a number of community boards and agencies.
As far as plans for retirement, Sims has already planned a trip to Africa with his wife, Shirley, in October and said he would love to do other traveling as well. The Sims visited Israel several years ago, and Sims said the trip was so inspiring, he would like to return. “Really, I just hope for us to have some quality time together and look forward to some traveling,” he said.
Some of his best memories from his career with Community Action are the number of children the agency has had a hand in helping. “When I see them in later years and learn of their success, it’s such a joy to me,” he said. “We have had thousands of children, and having the opportunity to help change their lives was always a joy.”
News item
29 July 2010
