| Mission Statement
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park assists the National Park Service in its mission to preserve and protect the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by raising funds and public awareness, and providing volunteers for needed projects.
Board of Directors - Click Here
Friends Staff:
President: Jim Hart
Director of Development: Sarah Weeks
Special Projects Director: Lauren Gass
Office/Special Projects Coordinator: Kerri Considine
Chief Financial Officer: Nan Jones
Marketing Director: Holly Burcham
North Carolina Office Manager: Elaine Stewart
Volunteer Business Advisor:Allan Goss
Volunteer Communications Specialist:Ellie Burbank
Friends Of The Smokies History
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park works closely with the National Park Service. Each year the Park staff develops an annual needs list of projects for which Friends provides funding.
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park was organized in 1993.
Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park gained its incorporating charter from the State of North Carolina on June 30, 1995.
Friends of the Smokies has raised over $20 million through individual, corporate and foundation contributions, special events, and sales of specialty license plates in Tennessee and North Carolina.
Friends of the Smokies is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization registered with the Internal Revenue Service (Tax ID number 62-1564782).
Friends has over 4,500 members
Thousands of visitors provide anonymous support through donation boxes in the park
Friends of the Smokies coordinates volunteers who provide assistance with projects that benefit Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Governing the Friends are guidelines established by the incorporating charter, the Bylaws of Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, a Memorandum of Agreement with the National Park Service, and Director’s Order 21. Friends of the Smokies is registered with the solicitation and contribution boards in the States of Tennessee and North Carolina.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS AND MILESTONES
2008 - Funding provided to help save the eastern hemlocks from the destructive hemlock wooly adelgid has surpassed $1 million.
- 5th Annual Evergreen Ball raises $378,000 to support the preservation and protection of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
2007 - Support provided to the Park = $1,256,910.
- Funded planning efforts for Great Smoky Mountains National Park’s 75th Anniversary in 2009.
- Dedicated the new Twin Creeks Science and Education Center, a state-of-the-art learning laboratory which is a model for efficiency and sustainability throughout the park service.
2006 - Support provided to the Park= $1,253,192.85.
- Construction of new Twin Creeks Science Center, towards which Friends contributed $285,000.
- Third annual Evergreen Ball raised $330,000 in total revenue.
- Grand opening of Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob; Friends secured a grant of $75,000 to fully furnish Purchase Knob as a residential learning laboratory for visiting scientists.
2005 - Dedicated new lab at the University of Tennessee to raise predator beetles for the fight against the hemlock woolly adelgid.
- Facilitated the donation of 4 Prius hybrid vehicles from Toyota to the Park.
2004 - Annual revenue surpassed $2.2 million; Park support exceeded $1 million.
- Raised nearly $300,000 for emergency efforts to save the park’s hemlock trees from a deadly non-native insect.
- Assisted with preservation of Cades Cove barns.
- Raised $100,000 for capital improvements for the science center at Purchase Knob.
2003 - Purchased a new search and rescue vehicle for Park law enforcement.
- Completed a $250,000 match of an equal amount of Alcoa Foundation funds to benefit Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont.
2002 - Supported conservation work to benefit elk, black bears, and brook trout.
- Upgraded backcountry permits stations.
- Expanded the Parks as Classrooms program.
2001 - Returned elk to the Smokies after a 150-year absence.
- Opened a new office in Waynesville, NC.
- Raised funds for capital improvements for the new Appalachian Highlands Science Learning Center at Purchase Knob
2000 - Restored wheel on historic Cable Mill in Cades Cove.
- Along with the Great Smoky Mountains Natural History Association, received the Excellence in Interpretive Support Award from the National Association for Interpretation.
1999 - Preserved and restored four historic log cabins in partnership with Log Cabin Syrup of Aurora Foods, Inc.
- Provided a new visitor orientation film for Sugarlands Visitor Center.
1998 - Established three endowments totaling over $250,000.
- Assisted Discover Life In America in beginning the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory to catalog every living species in the Park.
1997 - Produced a breeding bird atlas and black bear research and education materials.
- Educated over 10,000 students in two states through Parks as Classrooms.
1996 - Reconstructed the Alum Cave and Boulevard Trails damaged by Hurricane Opal.
- Rehabilitated picnic areas & campgrounds with a grant from Georgia-Pacific.
- Restored the historic Alfred Reagan House.
1995 - Reconstructed the historic Mt. Cammerer Fire Tower.
- Raised funds through the first ever telethon for a national park.
- Provided a backcountry safety film.
1994 - Constructed a log dormitory for the Park’s seasonal employees.
1993 - 156 charter members donated $1,000 each to found Friends of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
See this year's list of park needs and opportunities to help.
|
