The man behind one of the nation’s largest contracting companies will be featured at The Guardian Center’s annual Banquet in Carmi on April 1st. And just as he’s found success in building, C. David Moody is a man who held a dark secret for years and has had to dig deep to find a way to build himself back up into the successful man he is today. Moody was sexually abused as a child, kept quiet for years and it wasn’t until years later when panic attacks took over his life that he was forced to face it. It was the Penn State scandal that was the tipping point for Moody in saying he’d had enough and he felt he had to speak out.
“I just got so angry thinking that people left those boys with this coach and people were turning their heads. But I also got angry with how all the articles and magazines…they always make survivors look so sad and that’s another reason I had to speak up. But we’re not. I mean a lot of us, myself included, were hurting but we still smile. We still have things to be happy about. So my focus is helping people see that we can not only survive, but we can thrive. We can do some incredible things. It takes some work, but this doesn’t have to control us. I decided I just wasn’t going to let my abuser control my whole life. I will live with this my entire life, but it doesn’t have to be a negative my entire life.
Since then, he’s become a leader in the Child Advocacy arena, appearing on the TLC documentary “Breaking The Silence” along with last year’s guest program Erin Merryn, the driving force behind Erin’s law. In addition to speaking, Moody has created https://www.moodyspeaks.com. In his own words,
“Its where I started telling my journey. I have a Survivor’s Corner where other survivors have shared their stories. There’s a resource page
with plenty of contact information surrounding help and prevention. In the next 3 to 4 weeks, my book will be on sale there. It’s a place for people to go in private, safely who are thinking about being a survivor, or a loved one of a survivor where they can go and get information from different organizations in a private setting and go at their own pace. There may be some people who never speak up and that’s ok, but they need to know information is available and that’s what I want to provide, a safe and private place for people who need it to be able to get that information.”
Moody will be sharing his story and sharing the help he’s had, the help he wishes was available when he was young and what he’s working to make sure anyone who suffers from abuse has if they need it. As for what the audience gets out of his engagement, for which he’ll accept no payment…hope.
“I want people to get hope…those who need hope. One thing I’ve learned through this journey is when you have hope, you can do some 
incredible things. I want people who feel they’re all alone to know that they’re not alone. I want to give some people who don’t know how to help a loved one some pointers and learn some things on how to help a loved one. And I want to help anyone who’s trying to figure out how to take the first step…I wanna give them some steps they can take on this journey to help find some of the healing that they’re after.”
Tickets for The Guardian Center Banquet on Friday, April 1st are available now at $25 per person or $200 for a table of eight guests. Sponsorships are also available. For more information or reservations, call 618 – 382 – 8247.
