The Community Action Agency says goodbye today to Executive Director Horace Sims, who is retiring after more than four decades.

His 44 years with the agency that offers public assistance in a range of programs have brought him joy, he said, as he has been able to bring hope to people in need, in grief, in desperation and in fear for the future.

Sims’ work and community involvement has been recognized numerous times. April 1, 1994, was Horace Sims Day, as proclaimed by Talladega’s mayor. Sims received a personal letter from Coretta Scott King, congratulating him on a Martin Luther King Day speech in 1992. The Talladega Democratic Conference named him to Who’s Who In Talladega.

Now Sims plans to spend some time seeing more of the world. He hopes to make a second visit to Israel, but first on the list is a trip to Africa in October.

It’s a big world, Mr. Sims, but you’ve made this corner of it a better place. Travel safely.