Clay County comes together to team with First Lady, Gov. Lee, others to revitalize Hermitage Springs Park

By THOMAS P. WEAVER

Horizon Editor

HERMITAGE SPRINGS-“The trees are even happy!”

That’s the kind of day it was here at Hermitage Springs Park Saturday, as people from all over Clay County put on an impressive display of community pride by coming together for a common goal.

The description came from Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee, after she and Governor Bill Lee rolled up their sleeves for a day of hard work alongside an army of volunteers over 100 strong—which included local elected officials, businesses, agencies, and civic groups from all across the county; Cleary Construction owners and employees; and representatives from Kaboom!, the Tractor Supply Foundation, and the Tennessee Titans—whose combined efforts resulted in an amazing makeover of the entire facility.

“As everything was going up, I even looked around, and I was like, I feel like the trees are even happy,” the First Lady said.  “You know it’s just brought life—there is life I feel like here at this space and there will be life to come for generations that come after.”

Through the First Lady’s initiative Tennessee Serves, not only was the new ADA-accessible play space constructed, but the entire park was refreshed with new paint, benches, picnic tables, landscaping, and more, as a part of the over $285,000 investment towards the success and wellbeing of the community.

The bathrooms were also upgraded, a fire pit was added, the basketball court was painted to allow for additional activities, murals were created, and much more.  A new volleyball court is also being built, a rubber floor around the playground will be installed, and a sun shade canopy will be added soon.

The additional work, along with the entirety of the renovations, are estimated to be completed by the first of June, and the park is expected to reopen at that time.  

“That’s the America that I used to know”

Everyone in attendance Saturday was inspired by what was accomplished, including Governor Lee, who described the effort as a “refreshing, reviving, renewing, reminding day” for himself personally, after he was visibly overcome with emotion when addressing the crowd.

“You forget sometimes why you do something,” he said, before explaining he and his wife refer to mailboxes at the ends of driveways in rural Tennessee as reminders to maintain a grasp on what matters to people in small communities and to help them remember why they decided to make a run a the governorship.  “Sometimes you get to Nashville and you have all this political rhetoric and decisiveness and this, that, and the other, and politics is nasty, and you get tired of a lot of stuff.

“And then you come out here and you do this, and you remember the mailboxes, the people, and the communities, and nobody cares who’s a republican or a democrat, or who likes what—nobody cares about any of that,” Governor Lee continued.  “They just care about each other, they care about their kids, they care about this community.

“Coming out here just reminds me why we decided to do this… because (people) look around this country and they see a lot of stuff that scares them, but they look at Tennessee, and they look at communities like this, and they say, ‘that’s the America that I used to know and it reminds me how great this country is.’

“Thank you for refreshing me and reminding me that there is a great deal to be hopeful and excited about in our great state, because of places like Clay County.”

Clay County Mayor Dale Reagan, who labored throughout the day with volunteers, also offered his gratitude to all involved.

“This morning when we got started, I saw everything that was laid out and I thought, ‘I don’t know about this,’ then I looked up and the sky just opened up,” he said.  “You all are awesome.

“The community down here—you all have turned out.  I am overwhelmed.  Look all around us,” Reagan continued.  “This is something you all can be proud of and I’m proud of it, and not just for today, but for the generations on down the line.  Thank you so much!”

The heartfelt remarks by Reagan and the Lees came as the work concluded with a celebratory ribbon cutting, after the day began with an exciting kickoff ceremony, followed by volunteers spending the remainder of the morning and afternoon working hard to construct the playground and revitalize the park.

“Heartwarming” day

Co-owner of Cleary Construction Dawn Cleary, Marti Skold-Jordan of the Tractor Supply Foundation, and KABOOM! CEO Lysa Ratliff also addressed the crowd, before everyone gathered for a final group photo.

“It has been heartwarming to see everyone come out and show their dedication to their community, by rolling up their sleeves and working together for the children of Clay County,” Cleary, whose husband Darren and their employees led the hands-on work, said.  “We have great employees who have family ties in this community, as well as Darren and I do.

“We have family here too, and we are just happy that this playground is here and it will be here for years to come.”

Skold-Jordan spoke of her foundation’s contributions, which she explained aligned with giving in three ways—their time, their talent, and their treasures.

“So we gave a grant, I brought 25 people, I called the local FFA, because we are the largest supporter of FFA, and we had about seven kids out here helping and 25 Tractor Supply people from stores all over the place,” she said, “but we also brought a couple of truckloads of tools and those are all staying here in Clay County—everything that we brought.

“So thank you for letting us be a part of Clay County.  We believe in taking care of our neighbors in the communities we call home, (and) this is home.”

Like all who spoke, Ratliff thanked all the partners involved and also offered gratitude to State Representative Kelly Keisling, Hermitage Springs School officials, Barky Beaver and Honest Abe for their donations, and the Dairy Burger for providing lunch.

Additionally, she took time to laud the community, her staff, Reagan, the Lees, and all the volunteers.

“It is hot outside, it is a beautiful day, and you could have been anywhere, and here you are coming together and showing our kids what community looks like,” Ratliff said.  “A community that has so much love in it, that says, ‘on a Saturday we are going to do whatever it takes to make magic happen.’

“Your local leadership means the world and you have been out here sweating and doing all the work,” she also said to Reagan.  “Your commitment is extraordinary and we take that with us when we leave.”

Ratliff then turned her attention to the Lees to offer an emotional thank you.

“Meeting you today has been magical and inspiring,” she said to the First Lady.  “Not only did you say, ‘I am going to do something for the community (and) I am going to find the right people to do it,’ but you have showed up today as a role model for how we should live our lives.

“I have been watching you and (have been) inspired by you, and what I am taking away with me is how to become an even better woman.  So thank you for using your platform for service, and for bringing people together, and for pouring into the kids of this community.”

Ratliff finished by addressing the Governor.

“We are just bombarded with so many messages of divisiveness and how we can’t come together, and my cup runs over to know that we locked arms, we are sweaty, we are tired, and we showed people how to solve problems,” she said.  “All of us have an urgent job in front of us to create the best possible world for our babies.

“Moments like this are the instruction manual for how to do that.  When we can pause long enough and look at each other and say this is how we get it done. Thank you.”

“A catalyst for growth”

The First Lady closed the event with a final thank you and explained the intent behind the project.

“Without these organizations to help us, we would have never, ever been able to pull it off,” she said in gratitude.  “It takes a lot of money, a lot of time, a lot of talent, and a lot of resources.

“I hope that this playground is a catalyst for growth and revitalization and investment… (and) the efforts here cause hope to arise in this community.”

Prior to build day, First Lady Lee hosted a Design Day in March at Hermitage Springs School to gather input from students, parents, and community members.  KABOOM! used the input to thoughtfully design the play space for the community.

Tennessee Serves invited all eight of Tennessee’s federally designated distressed counties to apply for the playground grant, and, after reviewing criteria, Clay County’s application, prepared by the local Chamber of Commerce, was selected.

The Hermitage Springs Park project marked the First Lady’s Tennessee Serves initiative’s largest-scale project to date.  To learn more, visit www.tn.gov/firstlady.  For more information about Hermitage Springs Park, call 615-388-0658.

**Photos below by Thomas P. Weaver/Dale Hollow Horizon and courtesy tn.gov/firstlady.

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