Bill > SJR0159

This resolution honors Thomas E. Mooty, a long-serving Baptist pastor and community leader from Cocke County, Tennessee, who is receiving the Cocke County Citizenship Award. The resolution highlights Mooty's extensive public service, including his 35-year pastoral career at West End Baptist Church and First Baptist Church of Wartburg, his military service in the U.S. Air Force from 1961 to 1965, and his community involvement such as serving as a press box announcer for local sports and helping with high school stage lighting. The document details Mooty's personal background, including his early entrepreneurial spirit (starting a lawn care business at age 14), his educational achievements (graduating with honors from Cocke County High School and Tennessee Temple College), and his family life, noting his 45-year marriage to Anita Hollingsworth before her passing in 2016, and his children and grandchildren. The resolution celebrates Mooty's commitment to community service, his evangelical work through multimedia platforms, and his embodiment of Tennessee's reputation as the "Volunteer State," ultimately commending him for living "an examined life with courage and conviction."

https://wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/Billinfo/default.aspx?BillNumber=SJR0159&ga=114