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Carol Cumberland
RACHEL TOWNSEND
Managing Editor
Whether you’ve seen her at the St. Jude Rides Fish Fry or on the back of a motorcycle sporting her Midsouth Riders (MSR) jacket, chances are you probably know Dyersburg native Carol Cumberland. If you do know Cumberland, you know she has a heart of gold, and her empathy leads her to serve others in a variety of ways.
Over the years, she has been involved in numerous fundraising events. She is also an advocate for several worthy causes including Alzheimer’s, Special Needs, animal welfare, cancer, and others. Cumberland says the relationships she has developed over the years have allowed her to grow both personally and professionally.
For 21 years, Cumberland has been a member of the Midsouth Riders, serving as secretary and a member of the Activities Team for roughly eight years before situating into her current role as treasurer.
In her nearly two decades with MSR, she has helped collect food for pantry donations, participated in annual toy runs for the Dyer County Sheriff’s Department (ongoing for 16 years), helped tornado victims, organized fundraisers for cancer patients, and helped her fellow community members overcome the financial devastation which arises from house fires, disease, car wrecks and other hardships. She expressed a deep love for MSR’s culture and values toward helping others, stating that they are more than just a biker club that cares, they are a family.
Cumberland says some of her earliest fundraisers were through an MSR program called Bikers Helping Hands, where she and others would organize fundraisers to help local families.
In 2010, Cumberland says she was introduced to some bikers from the St. Jude Rides motorcyclists who were passing through town looking for a place to eat. This was long before the annual fish fry and BBQ that are held now to welcome to the group. Cumberland says she and fellow MSR members, with the help of the Christian Motorcycle Association, began hosting the annual dinner in 2011 to make sure St. Jude riders always had a proper welcome to town.
In the years since that first meal, Cumberland says Dyersburg Mayor John Holden began participating each year, providing and preparing the fish, while MSR, the Christian Motorcycle Association, and St. Jude Rides (Dyersburg Chapter) have hosted the crowd and prepared BBQ and side items.
Cumberland’s involvement in philanthropy isn’t solely attributed to her involvement with MSR. As a single mom, Cumberland says part of her always felt the need to give back to the community who supported her. She recalled a Christmas when she needed financial assistance to provide clothes and jackets for her two girls, Kelsey and Karissa. She said local programs were generous to help and from then on, she vowed to always do her part to pay forward the kindness she was shown.
Loss has also played a large part in shaping Cumberland into the person she is today.
At the age of 59, Cumberland’s father, the late Jimmy Morris, received an Alzheimer’s diagnosis and was cared for by his wife, Cumberland’s mother, the late Janice Morris, until his condition advanced to a degree where nursing home facilities were needed.
Cumberland says her servant’s heart was inherited to her from her mom. She says her mom was “an angel” and would always do for others. She said losing her parents took a hefty toll and inspired her to pursue fundraisers for nursing homes and Alzheimer’s patients.
When she was 18, Cumberland also lost her brother who was only 16 years old at the time. She says losing someone she loved at so young of an age made her understand the importance of appreciating what you have while you have it.
Cumberland is currently the office manager and purchasing agent for D&K Packaging, where she has worked for the past seven years. Prior to her career at D&K, Cumberland spent 20 years at Heckethorn Manufacturing where she worked as the production scheduler.
She is the mother of Kelsey (32) and Karissa (35) and grandmother to Dawson (5) and Abigail (8).