If you know Ms. Martha Moore, you know that her recent Outstanding Citizen of the Year award was just the icing on the cake of her civic involvement over the years. This quiet, unassuming lady is the epitome of a community leader, but prefers to work her miracles under the radar, shunning any public accolades for what she does.
What does she do, you ask? Just about everything!
Martha has lived in Fuquay-Varina all of her life. She attended school at the consolidated school on Jones Street. She met her husband and raised her children here. While all her siblings left town to raise families elsewhere, she feels fortunate to have lived and worked in Fuquay-Varina for almost 70 years. “I was raised in an age where we learned a work ethic that most kids don’t learn anymore,” she says. “We learned to apply ourselves at a young age.” Ms. Martha hired herself out to tobacco farms in the summer to earn money for book rent. Kids had to save money to rent their schoolbooks over the summer, so they learned to work and save. “We had discipline,” she says. “Our Ag teacher, Mr. Burton, put boys to work with a wheelbarrow when they got into trouble. I’m so glad I was brought up in that era!” Her first official job as a teenager was in a local restaurant, and then she began cleaning homes on the weekends. She earned her first store credit when she worked at Kesler’s Clothing Store.
She met her husband, Charles Moore, in high school. “My husband worked for the Fred Wicker Company in Raleigh,” she explains. “He served in the military for two years during the war, but then came home. His job was waiting for him, and with his veteran’s benefits we were able to buy our first home.” Martha always wanted to be a schoolteacher, but her husband preferred that she stay close to home to raise their children. Her two children, Evelyn and Milan, also grew up locally, and she is pleased with the adults they have become. “They were raised during a good time,” she says proudly. “We instilled a work ethic in them that children today don’t always have. Children today are weaker and wilder, and children are raising children. My kids grew up in a different world, and I’m glad I was there for them while they were growing up.”
Martha worked in Fuquay-Varina at Soft Care, which became Gerber Children’s Wear. “I had a very supportive supervisor,” she recounts fondly. “She was very flexible so I could volunteer on school trips and get my kids when they were sick. My mom lived down the road and I could go pick up my children and take them to her house and then go back to work if I needed to.” Even though she didn’t get her teaching degree, Martha stayed active in her children’s school lives, and continued to stay active even after they finished school and moved on. She has served as a substitute teacher for many years, and became more involved with her community when she observed the learning gap for children in her community.
With the help of Linda Stockwether and Miss Betty Rush, Martha started a tutorial program for children at Pine Acres Community Center. With a grant written by Ms. Stockwether, they were able to make the after school program last for 4-5 years, something she is intensely proud of. In addition to this work, she has served on the Pine Acres board of directors for many years, helping create a neighborhood watch program and organizing “March Against Drugs” events. During her tenure, she has secured donated computers from Bob Barker (who was then mayor) and oversaw the construction of a computer lab in the Pine Acres building that was donated by a local Rotary Club. “My calling has always been to be a helper in the community,” she explains. “People around me create a pathway to change and I’m just one of the pieces in the puzzle.” Martha currently serves as the President of the Pine Acres Community Center board of directors—a testament to her faithful leadership. For 19 years, Martha has also served as an election monitor with the Wake County Board of Elections. For half of that time, she was a chief judge.
In addition to her work at Lincoln Heights Elementary and Pine Acres Community Center, Ms. Martha has been recognized as a community leader in a broader sense. As a resident who loves her community, Martha has been an active member of the Friends of the Museums since its inception as both a docent and a board member. “I love my town,” she smiles, “And I was pleased when Mayor John Byrne asked me to serve on the Centennial Commission in 2008. He knew me from the museums, and asked Arlene Newton and me to help. I was happy to help celebrate the community that raised me.”
Martha also is a minister at St. Augusta Missionary Baptist Church, and teaches bible study classes. A former Christian Education Director there, Martha is still involved in many facets of religious education as well as prison ministry. She has served with Fuquay-Varina Bridge Builders, the Southern Regional Center Advisory Board, and the Heart of the Carolinas Food Team Ministry. She is also a volunteer for Southern Wake Faith Community in Action (SWFCA) and Citizens Against Drugs. Most recently, she has served as a member of the Fuquay-Varina Arts Foundation, working to bring a cultural arts facility to our town.
Known for her passion for improving the lives of the impoverished in our community, Martha still passes out information about elections, events, and activities that can help families break the cycle of poverty. She continues to work tirelessly to make sure that senior members of the community can make it to the polls to vote, get to medical appointments, and buy groceries. She stands for what is right and what is fair, and shares a heart for people. “Miss Martha’s passion and zeal for this community is a great example for the next generation of citizens and leaders to glean from because she touches every person she comes in contact with,” says her godson, Bryan Haynes. “She wants the best for her town as well as the community she lives in and continues to stay in the trenches daily to achieve this goal.”
Fuquay-Varina has recognized Martha Moore for her dedication to improving the community around her. Her appointment to serve on the Centennial Commission by Mayor John Byrne is one of her proudest moments, but she was also named among “Women of Wisdom” by the Fuquay-Varina Woman’s Club Honor Roll in 2001. The Fuquay-Varina Chamber of Commerce has recognized her twice for her civic contributions—once in 1998 with the “Distinguished Service Award,” and most recently in 2014 with the “Outstanding Citizen of the Year.”
But, if you ask Martha what her greatest accomplishment is—among all the things she has worked on and done over the years—she immediately responds with “my children.” Evelyn earned two degrees at Wake Tech and now works at a military induction center. Milan worked at the fire department as a teen, and now works for Duke Energy Progress. “My kids never went to jail, they own their own homes, they have wonderful jobs, and are respectable, law-abiding citizens,” she smiles. “I couldn’t ask for more than that!”
This past January, Martha and Charles celebrated their 50th anniversary, and enjoyed a lavish celebration party given by their children in their honor. Family is, was, and always will be the key element of Martha’s life. According to Haynes, Martha managed to work, raise two great children, serve the community in a multitude of ways, and “still fixed dinner and sat down with her husband at the end of the day.” When asked what else she might want to accomplish, she smiles and answers “I have enough to do already. I love my town. I will always work to help make my community a better place, but I’m happy with what I do. I don’t need to add to it.”
