What lies behind us, and what lies before us, are tiny matters compared to what lies within us,” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
By Ann Cipperly
Sitting in the Moreman House at the Lee County Youth Development Center (LCYDC), Laura Cooper reflects on her life that has been woven together with the center for nearly 40 years. This year is the 25th anniversary of Laura’s role as executive director of the unique facility that is the only one of its kind in the nation and perhaps the world.
LCYDC celebrated its 50th anniversary last year with the theme, “Thank you for being a friend.” LCYDC became a reality when Jane Walker learned that children were taken to jail if they had no place to go. She felt she had to do something about it and enlisted the help of Cecil Moreman. With donated land, they campaigned to have an allocated property tax passed, which was unprecedented. LCYDC opened in 1973.
“Nobody could have imagined an agency like this and to have these two ladies spearheading it,” Laura says. “Jane’s husband was a Harvard educated attorney and lobbied for a statewide ballot. I think about the serendipity and divine providence it was for the center being placed here, sheltered on what was the back roads of Opelika.”
As Laura looks back over the years, she draws on Emerson’s quote for her life and feels it is true for the children the center serves and for anyone who struggles. “Because of my Christian heritage,” she says, “I believe what lies within us is the light that He gives us to walk through all the darkness and challenges of life.”
When Laura was growing up, she always cheered and championed those who struggled to fit in or had the most difficulties. The ninth of 10 children, Laura and her family lived on a farm in Washington County in Southwest Alabama.
Her father was a farmer and laborer, while her mother was a busy housewife. “They taught homespun values about treating people the way I wanted to be treated and a work ethic to understand that there is no free lunch, which is the core of who I am.”
Laura feels she was in Camelot growing up and didn’t realize it. “We were a family with 10 children and challenged financially, but didn’t know it because we were so rich in the things that really mattered. Not the least was having caring parents who expected the best out of us and provided solid examples of how to live life purposefully.”
Her family lived in a community where people looked out for others, and her father always told his children he wanted to hear a good report. It has always been important to Laura that she be held in good report.
Laura attended the University of Alabama and majored in human development, as she was the one in her family who helped people solve problems. “I suppose I always had a social worker heart,” she says, believing that the desire to help others came from her mother who welcomed everyone into her home and kitchen table.
Laura met her husband, Arthur, at a high school basketball game. They married a year after she graduated from Alabama. Since Arthur’s family was in car sales, they moved to the area in 1983 in pursuit of his career. Laura went back to college and graduated from Auburn University with a master’s degree in community agency counseling.
Laura went to work as a case aide at Lee County Human Resources in 1983. She offered direct service to families, whether it was helping a young mother care for an infant, a parent learn how to better serve the needs of a problem child or with a child in the school system. She loved it.
She then became coordinator of the residential treatment facility at LCYDC in the mid-1980s.When the position for executive director opened in 1999, she went directly to her mentor, Jane Walker, to discuss the opening. With the support of Mrs. Walker and her family, she accepted the position.
Laura was the third executive director. LCYDC had been in operation about 12 years when she started, and it was a small facility. Today, LCYDC has grown and expanded to include six residential care programs and six community and home-based service areas with more than 160 employees and contracted professionals.
“With everything I do,” Laura says, “whether it is trying to be a good wife, a helpful mother, a great aunt, great friend and a great steward of a community that has been so wonderful to me, I don’t think I can give enough. It has all been a welcomed sacrifice. Any service I have done for this community that has embraced us for 40 years and sustained us through highest of highs and lowest of lows, has been my privilege.”
She feels it is a privilege to have previously served on various boards and committees and to currently serve on the Industrial Development board for the City of Auburn, the Chamber of Commerce for Opelika, the Auburn Bank Board of Directors and the Auburn 2040 Education Committee.
“The 50th anniversary theme, ‘Thank you for being a friend,’ was because LCYDC has so many friends,” the director says. “My husband and I and LCYDC have some of the same friends in common that have been with us on this remarkable journey.
“I am true blue Auburn. I believe in her, and I love her. I am also very much Opelika red and black and Washington County black and gold with flecks of many other school colors throughout our state. All are important pieces of me.”
While she strives for everything to be perfect, Laura knows it won’t be, but she wants it to be the best possible. She knows that if she works hard, it will turn out as it is supposed to be. Things happen to upend the best made plans, and she makes it work.
“I don’t look at other people with any kind of judgements, as people are wired differently,” she says. “We should try to be generous with each other as we are all built differently. It is like a symphony. We have different instruments, and a director brings it all together to make beautiful music.”
Over the years, the problems the children face have changed due to what is going on in society. The director talks about research showing the negative effects of social media on children. “I could have told them that many years ago,” she says. “When children arrive at LCYDC, staff remove all electronics, and they have to engage with each other. It untangles their mind.
“The worst thing is that these cyber and social media platforms are addictive. Scrolling on the phone is causing physical and psychological problems. Research shows children on social media are becoming more anxious, depressed, suicidal and homicidal.
“A telling sign,” she adds, “is that Mark Zuckerberg does not allow his young children on social media or to have cell phones.”
Laura believes there is no substitute for the human touch. It is what makes us human. At the end of the day, we must have the human touch, as it heals, and if there is a problem, there is someone there in real time.
During Covid, LCYDC had the chance to analyze the agency and not only how they are impacting Lee County, but all 67 counties in the state. A substation of LCYDC was recently built in Washington County.
LCYDC is updating the entrance with a gate and guard house on main campus. They are also doing more community-based work with families who have children at risk of being placed at the center. This year, LCYDC has also been nationally reaccredited for the 20th year.
Aside from being at the center, Laura also loves baking, seeing what Stanley Sistrunk is doing at The Flower Store in Auburn as it is her happy place, walking the campus for meditation and going to events at the Gogue Performing Arts Center.
While she enjoys getting away occasionally, Laura finds it peaceful relaxing on the back deck of her home with a good book and glass of wine. It is an enjoyable time with her husband, who is still working in the car business.
Looking back since going to work at the center 38 years ago, Laura says, “If I could talk to the 20-something me, I would just say to hold on. It is going to be bumpy ride, but it is going to be so worth it. You cannot know what you don’t know. I still don’t know what I don’t know.
“I still feel like there is much more for me to learn from my children, my family and my friends, and I just want to hold on for the ride to see exactly where we are going to end up. I think ours is an agency without limits. Humanity is in need of what we have, and that is motivating and invigorating.”
