FOCUS ON THE POSITIVE
This is the second year the Dayton Daily News has recognized Unsung Heroes in the region. Because we received more than 120 nominations during the Thanksgiving holiday, we decided to profile five more people who go above and beyond to help others but rarely receive recognition for their work. For a closer look at the nominations we received and to read other Unsung Hero profiles, visit mydaytondailynews.com/projects/unsung-heroes/
So involved has John Moore been in Dayton charitable endeavors, his work defies easy summary. No single story can capture all Moore has done.
But Mike Parks, president of the Dayton Foundation — which nominated Moore as a Dayton Daily News Unsung Hero — offers this: "John gives a voice to the voiceless."
“I think it’s kind of wrapped up in my journey, my faith journey,” Moore said. “It’s a faith journey.
With a smile, he added, “I guess I haven’t learned how to say ‘No,’ often enough. I got a weak heart, or something.”
Born in Birmingham Ala., John Moore will be 93 on Jan. 11. He first became involved as a volunteer with the Dayton Foundation in 1972.
That’s 43 years of involvement, if you’re counting.
“That’s a ‘wow’ when you do the math, right?” Parks said with a laugh.
Moore is the first African-American board member for the Dayton Foundation. He served as chair of the foundation in 1989.
One area of Moore’s focus that stands out: Encouraging others to give.
In 1991, Lloyd Lewis Jr. and Moore co-led and formed the African American Community Fund, or the AACF, at the Dayton Foundation.
“This was really a nationally recognized and literally a groundbreaking initiative to engage African-Americans in philanthropy in a new way,” Parks said. “Today, that fund … has over 170 fundholders, 170 different individuals who have established funds within the (AACF).”
The fund is a subset of the Dayton Foundation that focuses on encouraging African-Americans to contribute, to become involved in philanthropy, to establish charitable funds within the AACF for “issues and organizations they care about,” Parks said.
Today, the fund collectively totals more than $5 million. Over the past 24 years, it has given out more than $3 million.
“I felt the African-American community has come a long way,” Moore said. “Some of us have been able to put a little bit into a fund. So we started with an idea. And this foundation supported us.”
Moore's involvement extends well beyond the foundation. He has been a trustee and chair of Sinclair Community College's board of trustees, a co-founder of Parity Inc., a trustee of the United Way of the Greater Dayton Area, a trustee and chair of the Self Sufficiency Task Force, a member of the Montgomery County Job Center Governing Board, a member of the MedAmerica Health Systems Corp. — and more, including supporting the Mary Scott Nursing Center's capital campaign.
Parks noted that Moore is a World War II veteran and a former chief of civilian employees at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He also was a Montgomery County citizen of the year in 1997.
Montgomery County Commissioner Dan Foley has long been impressed with the range of issues on which Moore has made an impact. His work is done in a "way that doesn't tear people down, but rather, it builds people up," he said.
“We should all be more like John Moore,” Foley said. “He’s kind, he’s humble and he works really hard.”
Deb Feldman, chief executive of Dayton Children's Hospital, has known Moore close to 20 years.
“I think John has a vision, and he is absolutely committed to working tirelessly, not only himself, but in any way he can to inspire, cajole, encourage others to consistently give time and effort to that vision,” Feldman said.
Moore was instrumental in the creation of Montgomery County’s human services levy, created from the merger of six human services-oriented levies to two.
Moore is also a founding supporter of the Dayton-Montgomery County Scholarship program. That program raised $25,000 in the first year and $35,000 the second year. A $1 million donation from Dayton philanthropist and industrialist Jesse Phillips was instrumental in sustaining the program.
Since then, from the fund, scholarships have been granted to 600 or 700 students each year, with scholarships averaging about $1,000 each.
Moore and his late wife, Hester, have two grown children. Being a grandfather of four and a great-grandfather to four have also kept him busy in his 37 years of retirement.
But Moore really isn’t not the retiring type.
“Since I’ve retired from Wright-Patt, I’ve simply volunteered around the community in one way or another, and I tried to be helpful,” he said.
TheHistorymakers.com, a web site which bills itself as the nation's largest collection of African American oral history videos, identifies Moore as a civic leader, and a 2006 profile of Moore can be found at that site.
“I just know that I’ve been blessed,” Moore said.
About the Author
