Neighbor Spotlight: Bethel Park council and historical society president Moury lives to serve hometown

For Tim Moury, there is no better place in the world than Bethel Park.

The lifelong resident has served as head of its elected leadership for 25 years come November, and coordinated with other volunteers to preserve its history since 2015.

“Not many people have an opportunity to grow up here and then be part of developing and forging the future of the community,” said Moury, 59. “You have a lot of background. Sometimes that is good and sometimes that is not. You know the history of how things got the way they were.”

He decided to run for borough council in the mid-1990s after watching a public hearing about a potential renovation project at Village Green Park.

Moury said council was split between Democrats and Republicans, who wasted nearly half of the one-hour hearing bickering amongst themselves and not hearing from many of the citizens.

“I was at a crossroads where I was frustrated that not everybody had an opportunity to speak, but more importantly how our people were acting,” said Moury, who is Republican. “I initially wanted to get involved as far as helping people get elected and bring more civility back on council.”

One of the candidates he was going to help dropped out, which created a more personal opportunity. In January 1996, he was sworn in — and appointed president at a reorganization meeting in November of that year.

He said some of the greatest accomplishments of his early years on council included the building of a community center and the development of a community park without raising taxes.

“My first few years were very challenging,” Moury said. “I was very fortunate to work with a good group. I envision council as more of a board of directors. It’s up to us to set the direction for the manager and what our expectations are.”

Things are starting to come full circle as his current group looks to spend around $2 million on various recreation projects including a new splash pad, playground and pavilions along Park Avenue.

Home away from home

When Moury’s not working or addressing residents’ concerns, he is spending time with others renovating the Schoolhouse Arts & History Center, home of the Bethel Park Historical Society.

They work for a few hours Tuesdays and Thursdays painting, plastering and doing other labor.

Moury said the goal is to attract more tenants, create a banquet hall and develop part of it into a museum.

The historical society has raised nearly $1 million through grants and other donations over the past five years for various projects.

The building was constructed in the early 20th century as Bethel High School. It was named a historic landmark by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

It houses a lot of old photos, firefighter and police uniforms and tools. There is a military roof with weapons, uniforms and other items from all branches.

Businesses such as Reginald’s Coffee and Improvement Thru Movement dance studio as well as the John Del Monte Creative Art Studio call the Schoolhouse home.

Family life

Moury grew up in the 1960s and ’70s the youngest of four boys of Virginia and William C. Moury.

“It was very friendly,” said the son. “It was developing. It was going through a growth spurt. There was some undeveloped property. A lot of housing plans were going in. It was a great place. What you really remember is the neighbors, the neighborhood. You were able to go out and do what you want. We spent a lot of time playing baseball at Hillcrest School.

His father worked for Duquesne Light. His mother worked for Pittsburgh Railways, one of the predecessors of the Port Authority of Allegheny County, before stepping down to help raise the family.

His older brothers were Gary, Charlie and William J. Moury. The youngest recalled living with them as a very educational experience.

“I learned from what my brothers did wrong so I knew my limitations,” Moury said.

He would go on to graduate from Bethel Park High School in 1980. He is not married.

Other education and employment

Moury studied engineering for a year at what was known as Penn State McKeesport, now Penn State Greater Allegheny, before seeking other pursuits.

He worked for former Pittsburgh area food broker Tenser Phipps & Leeper for about 15 years, rising from warehouse worker to account executive.

Moury did so while attending night classes at what was then Robert Morris College, and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1986.

His next job was with Heluva Good! in Sodus, N.Y.

Moury worked in sales and marketing as the company grew from about $35 million to about $110 million. He became regional director of sales for the mid-west division and covered ground from Western Pennsylvania to parts of Nevada.

“It was a great job,” he said. “It was run like a family-held company. Everybody had ownership.”

The company would eventually be acquired in 2006 by HP Hood and Moury’s position was eliminated within a couple of years.

Moury went on to work as a director of sales at Bridgeville-based All-Pak Inc. from 2008 to 2017, where he helped sell packaging and supplies to the scientific community.

He left to start his own business in the borough’s industrial park with fellow Bethel Park grads Jeff Froetchel and Evan Sivetz called Vericheck Technical Services. Moury is its president and CEO.

They sell and service instruments such as spectrometers to metal producers.

Moury said it has been very difficult to run the company during the pandemic with shutdowns, but things have been turning around as of late.

“It was tough making decisions,” he said. “We had to lay some people off for a time. We did shut down, at least from our technical staff, but it’s a challenge every day to make sure we’re bringing in enough revenue to pay the bills. It’s rewarding that I’m able to (run a business) in my hometown.”

Editor’s note: Neighbor Spotlight is a monthly feature that aims to let our readers learn more about the people in their communities who are working to make them a better place, who have interesting stories to tell or who the community feels deserve “15 minutes of fame.” If you would like to nominate someone as a Neighbor Spotlight, see bethelparkjournal.com, select the “Post Story” button in the upper right corner and complete the form to publish your nomination. Questions? Email Neighborhood News Network editor Katie Green at kgreen@triblive.com.