Success Story - Terry Willingham

Terry Willingham was a self-employed landscaper
when he decided to join the carnival in 1996. A
group of carnies he met in Florida got him a job as
a truck driver, food vendor and game operator, and
he traveled with their carnival to 29 states and
Puerto Rico.

Late one night as the carnival made its way from Michigan to New Mexico, Terry turned the driving over to another carnie so he could climb into the trailer and get a few hours' sleep. Two weeks later he woke up in a Kansas hospital with a paralyzed arm and a broken back. The other driver had fallen asleep behind the wheel and wrecked the truck. Terry had been pinned under 1,000 pounds of heavy equipment and was in a coma when paramedics found him. When he came out of the coma, doctors told him that he’d never walk again. However, Terry said God had different plans. “The big guy upstairs told me to get out of bed,” he said.

In October 2001, Terry came home to Chattanooga to recover. After working hard to regain mobility, he went to the Southeast Tennessee Career Center, who referred him to Chattanooga Goodwill Industries. Terry received medical equipment from Goodwill HELPs and job training. He did so well in his training that he was promoted to Team Leader, and now he helps train other Goodwill clients who are working to develop their own job skills. “I try to be inspirational,” he said. "Goodwill gave me a chance, and they’ve helped me accept other people, too. I’ve become a better listener, and my new job has taught me leadership.”

Terry said that if the accident hadn’t paralyzed him, he probably would’ve hit the road again with the carnival. “Now that I’ve found Goodwill,” he said, “I no longer need to wander.”