The Daily Times

Many Blount residents pay extra to purchase Tennessee Friends of the Smokies vehicle license tags, others make cash donations, and many local residents are volunteers in Park work, much of which is made possible by efforts of Friends.

We know the money is put to good use, but too often we fail to realize some of the many projects which it helps support.

A major legacy of the Friends is coming to fruition with the development of the Trails Forever program which is aimed at rehabilitation projects while incorporating the help of volunteers. The pilot phase started in 2008.

The Friends, headed by President Jim Hart, have set a goal of $4 million endowment that would fund the crew, the largest goal in its 17-year history. In October 2009, the Park created the Trails and Facilities Volunteer Coordinator position which supports the Trails Forever effort by recruiting, coordinating and leading volunteers in trail projects.

Steady growth of the number of volunteers and the quality of the trail improvements serve to highlight the value the program will have once the Trails Forever vision is fully realized.

The idea started with the Aslan Foundation of Knoxville and Lindsay Young’s family. The foundation pledged a $2 million matching grant to establish an endowment for hiking trail improvements in the Smokies. Lindsay was a member of the Friends and a passionate supporter of the Park.

This year, Natalie Haslam, an original member of the Friends board, recruited native Maryvillian Ann Baker Furrow and Sherri Lee to serve as co-chairs of a new memorial fund within Trails Forever. Their work has resulted in more than $459,000 in gifts and pledges so far for the Tom Cronan Pathfinder Fund.

Friends, family and associates of Tom’s wife, Joan Cronan, UT’s Womens Athletics Director, have brought the fund near its goal of $500,000.

The late Dr. Tom Cronan, a victim of pancreatic cancer, passed away Aug. 18, 2006. During his time in education he was chair of the health, physical education and recreation department at Maryville College, a position he later held for nearly 20 years at Carson-Newman College. He was also on the faculty at The Citadel and UT.

A 1975 graduate of Bearden High, he held degrees from LSU, where he lettered in track and field, and UT. A Wellness advocate, Cronan’s favorite stress reliever was hiking the Alum Cave Trail to Mt. LeConte. In his 50s, he hiked the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail from Maine to Georgia. In his Wellness/Attitude/Research on cancer he rode his motorcycle 7,300 miles to 22 cities.

He was a frequent hiker with a well-known LeConte hiker from Blount County, the late Margaret Stevenson. As many may recall, Margaret was the first woman to hike all 850 plus miles of the trails in the Smokies. She hiked 3,000 miles a year for 40 years, more mileage than she put on her car. She hiked to the top of Mt. LeConte 718 times.

Margaret’s last hike to the top of LeConte was with Tom Cronan. For many years, Margaret’s Wednesday Hikers made holiday gifts in her honor to Friends of the Smokies, establishing a fund of $42,000. When the Wednesday Hikers heard of the matching fund, they voted unanimously to make the Margaret Stevenson Fund part of Trails Forever, thereby doubling the balance.

Margaret once commented that the City of Maryville unknowingly did her a great favor by extending the Greenbelt Trail to a short distance from her house. The city erected a Margaret Stevenson marker at the point where the Greenbelt Trail crosses Montgomery Lane.

There are numerous ways Friends can help Great Smoky Mountains National Park through Friends.

Friends has set aside $50,000 in support of the hemlock treatment program in 2011. That’s something all 130,000 Blount Countians and 9 million Cades Cove visitors can appreciate. Since 2003, Friends have given more than $1.3 million to this cause, which is saving many of our beautiful hemlock trees.

To make a donation to Friends, whether financial or as a volunteer, call Friends at 865-932-4794 or 1-800-845-5665 or write Friends of the Smokies, P.O. Box 1660, Kodak, TN 37764-7660 for detailed options that meet your interest in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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