By Jimmy Robertson

BLACKSBURG – The Virginia Tech Athletics Department lost a person near and dear to its heart when John Moody, who helped raise money for Tech athletics for more than 40 years, passed away Monday morning at the age of 83.

Moody was a former football player, he was veteran who served in United States Army, he was a 1958 graduate of Virginia Tech, and he was a fundraiser. Yet those who know him best know he was so much more.

Moody is best known for his work in the Virginia Tech Athletic Fund – better known by many as the Hokie Club – where he worked for nearly his entire professional career before retiring in June of 2013. It actually marked the second time that he had retired from the Hokie Club. He did so a few years prior, but Lu Merritt, who oversaw the Hokie Club for years, convinced Moody to come back in a part-time role.

Moody’s career began in 1972 when Mac McEver oversaw what was then called the Virginia Tech Student Aid Foundation, which later morphed into the Hokie Club, and hired Moody as a fundraiser. Moody often admitted that he knew nothing about fundraising when he agreed to take the job, but he quickly learned.

He decided to write a letter to alumni and other fans of the athletics programs, asking for a $10 donation. He received 393 responses and raised $6,420.50. He kept those now yellowed responses in a drawer in his desk, a reminder to his humble roots.

Moody later helped to establish many of the programs that the club still uses today. He played a large role in forming the “Hackin’ Hokies” group, a contingent of donors who play golf with Tech’s golf team each spring in Pinehurst, North Carolina, and who have donated large sums of money to Tech’s golf program over the years. He also helped to form the “Hackin’ Hokies, Too,” another group of donors who usually play with the coaches at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia every year. That group has raised money for projects such as the clubhouse at the River Course, the baseball scoreboard, the scoreboard at the swimming facility and others.

In addition, Moody played a role in establishing the Hokie Rep program. These reps often signed up others to the Hokie Club, thus increasing the membership and provided much needed revenue for scholarships.

Moody later became the office’s “go-to” guy, often meeting with the wealthiest of Tech’s contributor base. He secured some of the largest donation mostly because his approach to fundraising was rather simple.

“You don’t really raise money; you raise friends,” he said in a 2013 article in Inside Hokie Sports. “And then your friends give you the money. Friends will give to you.

“The real joy in this kind of work is getting to know the people outside. They become as close as your brothers and sisters in your family. I’ve been to a lot of weddings and too many funerals. I’ve had a lot of laughs, and we’ve cried together. There are lots of people right now that, if something happens in their family, I’m there. It’s just the same as if it were a family member. The relationships you gain in this job, they are your extended family, and they’re the ones that are loyal to a fault. I’ve had a good time with them.”

Moody’s relationships often paid dividends. Once, back in the early 1990s, the Blacksburg High School girls’ basketball team was headed to Grundy, Virginia for a regional basketball game against Grundy High School. Moody called a good friend – and well-heeled – contributor in Grundy, and the two discussed the upcoming game. The contributor thought Grundy would win. Moody thought otherwise. They ended up wagering $5 on the game.

Moody lost the bet, as Grundy defeated Blacksburg. So he found five of the oldest, most crumpled $1 bills that he could find and mailed them to his friend.

Days later, he received a letter from his friend. He opened the letter and found a note that said, “You don’t lose all your bets.” Enclosed within the envelope was a check for $50,000 made out to the Hokie Club.

Moody’s accomplishments over the years have earned him many honors. He has been inducted into both the Richmond Hokie Club Hall of Fame and the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. He also has a scholarship endowed in his honor – the John Moody Scholarship Fund – and the top Hokie Rep with the most growth in members annually gets the John S. Moody Award.

Funeral arrangements were being made at the time of this posting. Moody leaves behind wife Kay and their three children, and legions of friends among Hokie Nation.

He also leaves behind a legacy – one that won’t soon be forgotten.

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