“You scratch my back, and I will scratch yours.” This old saying, passed down through the generations, means if you do for me, I will, in turn, do for you. But the foundation of our worth isn’t found in doing for those who can repay us. It’s found when we choose to give of ourselves, knowing we will receive nothing in return.
As the housing rehab supervisor for the city of Huntsville, Rodney McCallie has been living out this principle for the last 25 years. Using community development grants provided by the federal government, McCallie has turned notices for code violations into blessings for low-income families and seniors. This has stabilized lower-income neighborhoods, resurrected a sense of community pride, and built lifelong connections and friendships.
“Code notices are a necessary function of city management, but when seniors are given a notice, they are referred to the rehab section to help them comply with the city ordinances. The rehab section can turn a notice into a blessing by performing the repairs that the senior could not afford to do. This helps stabilize our low-income neighborhoods. We have now served over 2,000 families and completed over 3,000 projects,” McCallie said. “We have helped families more than one time over the years.”
Before McCallie worked for the city, he was a builder.
“My stress level became a problem for my family and my health,” he said. “The city of Huntsville had just begun to receive grant funding for a home repair program. I was hired to build a volunteer network to repair low-income homes for seniors. I have always had a soft spot for seniors. This, paired with my deep religious faith, made this job more like a calling than a career opportunity.”
Because of McCallie’s faith, he reached out to local churches. He had a plan. Instead of paying a contractor to do the repairs, he invited Christians who had a heart to serve their neighbors. Using another principle — many hands make light work — they completed twice as many tasks.
“I began building a group of qualified people who could lead youth groups and volunteers on construction sites. We then started contacting local churches and civic groups, asking them to serve seniors in Huntsville. Partnering with organizations like the Madison Baptist Association, we have been able to recruit churches from all over the Southeast to come to Huntsville during the summer and do weeklong projects. Now, each year we have over 700 volunteers who complete more than 100 projects.”
When McCallie began in 2002, they started by cleaning up overgrown yards and removing debris, but those odd jobs have since come full circle.
“Slowly, we trained these groups to do vinyl siding and then roofing. After 25 years, some of the youth we started with are now our adult crew leaders who are training youth to do this work. They will then become future leaders on these projects. These are mission trips for faith-based groups. The mixture of faith-based groups and seniors is magical. Many lifelong relationships have formed through serving the community,” McCallie said.
One of the most notable moments of McCallie’s career was in 2004.
“Madison Baptist and the North American Mission Board brought 503 youths and adults to serve on a weeklong mission trip. In one neighborhood, we roofed and put vinyl siding on 17 homes. We worked in groups of 12. Eight people worked while four cooled off and walked the neighborhood, spreading the word of Jesus Christ. We had 14 people from the neighborhood accept the Lord as their savior. I was only a few years into the job, and this is when I realized these were indeed mission trips and not just construction projects.”
Seeing others — especially youths — reaching out to help strangers renewed McCallie’s hope for the future of our country and for Huntsville.
“Seeing the number of volunteers willing to give back has shown me that people still want to help others who cannot do for themselves. We see the bad on the news; I see the good each day through our faith-based youth.”
Mayor Tommy Battle awarded McCallie with the 2026 City of Huntsville Leadership Award, and though he will retire on Dec. 31, he doesn’t plan to stop serving.
“I want to be known for the dedication to a program that some thought wouldn’t succeed. I hope people remember I built this program with the heart of a teacher. I hope others see the satisfaction serving has brought me, and they reach for these same rewards.” GN
