Honorable Howard H. Baker Announced as Luncheon Speaker
Senator Howard H. Baker, Jr. will be the special guest speaker at the second annual Legacy Parks Foundation Mayors' Luncheon for the Parks to be held Friday, October 17th.
The event, hosted by Knoxville Mayor Bill Haslam and Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale, is an opportunity to celebrate the importance of parks and greenspace to the overall quality of life and economic vitality of our community and a chance to demonstrate Legacy Parks Foundation's role in advancing that cause.
More than 500 business and civic leaders attended last year's inaugural event to hear key accomplishments of the Foundation, including PetSafe Corporation's $500,000 gift for five dog parks and a 104 acres gift of property that will become an addition to Ijams Nature Center. Several similarly significant announcements are slated for this year's luncheon.
Sponsors of the Mayors' Luncheon include Pilot Corporation, Merit Construction, Waste Connections, Triax Data, and Robin Easter Design Group. The event begins at 11:30 in Knoxville's Caswell Park. Sponsorship opportunities and reservations are now available online or by contacting cevans@legacyparksfoundation.org.
Mayor Haslam and Michael Cain discuss skatepark fundraising success.
Halls Has It! Land Purchased for Park
Legacy Parks Foundation took possession of an 11 acre parcel in the heart of the Halls that soon will be home to a beautiful community park. In five short months the Foundation worked with the community to raise $575,000 to purchase the land.
The fundraising team was led by Halls businessman Carl Tindell and included former County Commissioner Mary Lou Horner, community volunteer Martha Arnold Charnay, realtor Scott Frith, former County Executive Tommy Schumpert and Shopper News publisher Sandra Clark. A conservation easement was placed on the property by the Hodge family prior to selling the property to the Foundation, which assures that the property will forever remain in its natural state with the addition of passive park amenities as gazebo, picnic areas, walking trails and boardwalk along the creek. Legacy Parks Foundation will transfer the property to Knox County Parks and Recreation in the next few months so that they can begin the preliminary clean-up of the property and hold public meetings to determine what type of amenities the community would like in the park. The fundraising committee anticipates forming a “Friends of the Park” group to continue helping develop the park.
Spectacular views of Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge are found on both sides of the river.
Land Acquired to Expand Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge
Legacy Parks Foundation purchased 17 acres to expand the Seven Island Wildlife Refuge on southside of the French Broad River. The additional land will enhance the area around the boat launch and provide more space for access to a pedestrian footbridge slated for construction next year to connect Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge on both sides of the river. The new property is located on Seven Islands Road off Kimberlin Heights Road in South Knoxville and expands this portion of the refuge to 30 acres. The majority of the 400 acre Seven Islands Wildlife Refuge is located off Kodak Road in East Knox County. Read more»