Women Celebrating Women
The word inspire is defined as the act of filling someone with the urge or ability to do something, and here in Chattanooga, we have no shortage of incredible women who motivate those around them day in and day out. Whether they intentionally set out to be a role model or random acts of kindness are simply in their DNA, these women are making the world a better place. Read on to learn more about the individuals who encourage others to be the best version of themselves, told by those they inspired most.
Photography by Emily Pérez Long
inspired: Ann-Marie Fitzsimmons
inspiration: Kim Hunt
I first met Kim Hunt on 11th Street in front of the Chattanooga Community Kitchen, where she was coming to help distribute food to camps and motels during COVID-19. I knew the minute I saw her that we were going to be friends. She bounces as she goes and brightens any room she enters. She’s a light and has my ultimate respect.
Many women define themselves by motherhood. I know I do. “I’m a mom” comes before librarian and volunteer ever do. Being a parent is the most rewarding, heart-wrenching, and exhausting job I’ve ever known.
Long before I met Kim, I knew she had lost a son. If there is any greater fear we have as parents, I’d like to hear it because I don’t think that thing exists. The thing about Kim, even after the loss of Tucker, is that this tragedy does not define her. She doesn’t outwardly live in her loss. It’s there; I’ve seen it and heard it in her voice through the phone speaker. But it is not her.
She floats her love like dandelion seeds around those she cares about and has inspired me to live and love wide open.
“She floats her love like dandelion seeds around those she cares about and has inspired me to live and love wide open.”
