Clyde Cunningham has immersed himself in the community since retiring here in the mid 1970s.

He is the kind of person whom, unless you know him personally, you probably have never heard of.

The organizations he has served over the years from Civitan to Habitat for Humanity are coming together for Operation Honor Clyde Cunningham.

“He is such a humble guy,’’ said Tom Prior, executive director of the Houston County Habitat for Humanity, where Cunningham is on the board of directors. “So when the idea came about to honor Clyde, we knew it would have to be something that would recognize his support but also support one of his passions.”

Operation Honor Clyde Cunningham will be a fundraiser for the Community Outreach Center, a homeless shelter in Warner Robins.

Prior said Cunningham has done everything from selling chicken dinners for the homeless shelter to working at the Robins Air Force Base fall festival.

“He is just a very, very humble guy, always working but always working in the background,” Prior said. “He is the ringleader that makes it happen, but then he is in the background.”

The Rev. John Thomas, director of the Community Outreach Center, where Cunningham is also on the board of directors, said the day was designed to honor his service not only to the homeless but also to the community.

“He has just meant a great deal to us,” Thomas said. “He really doesn’t want anything, but we asked him if we could hold an event in his honor as a fundraiser and he agreed.”

Thomas said the Community Outreach Center, which can house up to five families and eight single women, had benefited greatly from Cunningham’s involvement.

“He just helps us tremendously, helps everybody that he can,” Thomas said. “He is a giver. He is an amazing person, and we wanted to recognize his contribution not only to the Community Outreach Center but to all the organizations he is involved in as a volunteer.”

A plaque will be presented to Cunningham at the event, and it will hang permanently at the Community Outreach Center.

“It will be a testament to his dedication to the people of Warner Robins,” Thomas said.

Operation Honor Clyde Cunningham will be held 5 p.m. Jan. 31 at the Base Chapel, where Cunningham has been an active member for years. Money raised during the event will be donated to the homeless shelter; organizers hope to raise in excess of $25,000. To be part of the event, call the Community Outreach Center at 922-3195. Those unable to attend but who would like to donate funds can do so through the Community Outreach Center.

Contact Alline Kent at 396-2467 or allinekent@cox.net.