C. David Moody, Jr., is President and Chief Executive Officer of C. D. Moody Construction Company, Inc. in Atlanta.
The successful businessman ranks as one of Atlanta’s Top 25 Commercial Contractors and Top 100 Private Companies.
Moody, Jr.’s professional life has focused on building some very notable structures in Atlanta such as the Olympic Stadium, Morehouse College Leadership Center and Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. He also has built all of the major sports structures in Atlanta including Mercedes Benz Stadium, Philips Arena, and the former home of the Atlanta Braves Turner Field. Other high-profile projects include Coca-Cola, Disney World, Home Depot, and the new Maynard H. Jackson International Concourse.
However, Moody will tell you that was not the case for many years in his personal life.
Not until he decided to speak out.
A tragic event occurred when he was just 10 years old. Moody fell victim to sexual abuse by a male babysitter who was 17. He said he kept it a secret for most of his life.
“My business was only four years old when I began experiencing panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorder or PTSD and had a complete nervous breakdown knowing what happened to me when I was young,” he said.
It wasn’t until a family acquaintance revealed sexual abuse that Moody revealed he had been sexually abused.
“God and my wife Karla helped me through the roughest parts of dealing with the abuse,” Moody says.
With the help of counseling, Moody has learned what triggers his anxiety and fear and has learned how to overcome it. Now, he openly talks about his sexual abuse to help heal and inspire others. He even created a blog, Moody Speaks,where he posts lessons from his journey.
“Nobody promised me that life would be easy, but it sure is fun if you don’t give up.”
In his talks, Moody doesn’t dwell on the negative.
“I focus more on how we can still do incredible things with our lives regardless of our past,” he said.
In the last year, Moody’s construction company built and completed the new home to one of the world’s largest last Cyclorama painting in existence.
The Cyclorama is a huge circular painting, more than 100 years old, depicting the “The Battle of Atlanta” during the American Civil War. The painting, is now un-scrolled in its new 7,000 meter building at the Atlanta History Center. There, it is undergoing a full restoration, including restoring two meter of sky across the top of its full circumference. The 128 plaster figures that are the focal point of the painting’s diorama will also be restored.
The "Battle of Atlanta" was created by German artists and only a few Cycloramas paintings still exist in North America. The dedication of the painting and opening of the exhibition are scheduled to happen later this year.
Moody says working on the Cyclorama project had its moments, but overall it was exciting. And even when he has moments after working on a construction project or speaking to a group about his sexual abuse he reminds himself of this:
“It’s amazing what we can do when we think we can’t do it or go on any longer.”
