LAKELAND, Fla. (WFLA) – Tracy Moore is a crusader and the face of a movement. Yet her life’s mission was the result of an unwanted, unimaginable catalyst.
An on-the-job accident took the love of her life. Since then, she’s made it her personal responsibility to help, to educate and to comfort others who may also face tragedy.
Nearly two decades ago, Moore was just a wife and young mother whose life would change forever – in a split second.
“I, unfortunately, lost my husband in 2002,” she said. “He worked at Lakeland Electric as a power lineman on the pole crew and he was involved in an accident and lost his life. And at the time of Marc’s accident, we had two small children. I had a 4-year-old son and a 16-month-old baby also at home.”
Somehow, that tragedy inspired action.
Moore first convinced the City of Lakeland to create a “Lineman Appreciation Day,” which is recognized every year on Aug. 26.
From there, she created the Highline Hero Foundation.
“It’s to honor lineworker families that suffer catastrophically,” she explained.
And the misfortune does not have to be job-related.
“It can be anything that affects their family, their heart, catastrophically. Whether it be a sick child, a home burnt down, many unfortunate accidents on job, fatalities, sometimes just injuries,” Moore said.
Now, more than 17 years after losing her husband, that work lets Moore pay it forward, educating the linemen community about safety, and honoring her husband’s legacy along the way.
“It’s just a way for me to give back, to embrace that family that embraced me when I went through my tragedy,” she said.
She says she often thinks about what Marc might think about her work.
“I know that he sees it every day – you know the lives that have been touched through my foundation, through the safety meetings. And for him to see this, he would – if he were here – he would be really proud.”
Each of the Remarkable Women finalists profiled on WFLA were nominated by friends, family or the people impacted by their work. The winner of our local Remarkable Women Contest will receive a free trip to New York City and attend the Mel Robbins show.