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Leadership Blount's Class of 1997 was the first to select a Legacy Project, one in which the entire class will be known in the future. Each class selects and funds its own project.

The projects include:

--The class of 1997 produced and funded a video of a walking tour of downtown Maryville conducted by the late Dr. Elmer Mize, Maryville historian. This video was donated to the Blount County Public Library.

--The first class to take on two projects was the Class of 1998. This class was interested in promoting the building of a civic center as well as celebrating our increasing diversity. They planned and conducted International Day during the Dogwood Arts Festival for two years and conducted diversity training for middle and high school students the following year.

--The Class of 1999 produced an award-winning video of their vision statement and presented it to county commission asking for our government to provide a vision for the community. The class is also pursuing the building of a community playground.

--The Class of 2000 put together an historical CD of over 200 pictures and narrative, copies of which were provided to all libraries in Blount County. The class also cleaned up an abandoned cemetery in Friendsville and continues to provide volunteers for the annual "Shop With a Cop" program sponsored by the FOP and Wal-Mart.

--The Class of 2001 spent several weekends filling the need at the landfill for a facility to educate students and groups about environmental concerns, building a large pavilion, clearing a large trail and doing some landscaping work. This facility will be used by Keep Blount Beautiful as they conduct educational sessions at the landfill for students to learn about recycling, mulching and composting.

--The Class of 2002 provided the first 10 historic markers placed along the bike trail in Townsend. A small brochure explaining the sites is being developed and will be available at the Townsend Visitor's Center for those using the trail. The residents of Townsend have agreed to maintain the markers and place additional markers in the future.

--The Class of 2003, after learning that there had never been a time in our county when all commissioners and council members had sat around one table to discuss an important issue, decided to do just that. The class individually interviewed 68 members of the governing bodies of Alcoa, Blount County, Friendsville, Louisville, Maryville, Rockford and Townsend on a variety of topics and presented the findings at a breakfast at the Airport Hilton with over 40 of those interviewed present. The lasting legacy is that the "roundtable" will continue on an annual basis to discover all that has been done and to reconfirm our future direction.

--The Class of 2004 decided to take up a collection to help fund Drug Court Graduation, and after the death of a classmate's daughter, offered to take care of most of the manual labor needed by the family to have a special service. The class also built a Shakespeare Garden at the Blount County Public Library. After securing the funds and materials needed, class members researched Shakespeare, his works and the many plant varieties in those works, cleared land and planted the plants.

--The Class of 2005 created a Community Orchard. Each member not only committed to contributing $100 to the project but also began the labor-intensive project of clearing land donated by Maryville College.

--The Class of 2006 helped with funding for Trinity Health Ministries. Members established subcommittees to do fundraising, publicity and physical labor at the clinic itself. After a hugely successful pancake breakfast at Aubrey's, the class presented Trinity Dental Clinic with a check of $10,000.

--The Class of 2007 established the first Big BBQ Bash in Alcoa. After hundreds of hours of meeting and planning, the Class of 2007 pulled off a hugely successful BBQ with hundreds in attendance. The event was so successful that the class was able to present to the Blount County Children's Advocacy Center funds in excess of $17,000. The Big BBQ Bash is now an annual Blount County event.

--The Class of 2008 chose to raise funds for Wilderwood Service Dogs. The class presented Wilderwood a check for over $6,800 to be used for the purchase of a service dog for a needy family in Blount County.

--The Class of 2009 focused on education and the environment. Its Go Green Gala, a fundraiser designed to raise funds for environmental scholarships for Blount County teachers and to raise awareness of the importance of protecting our natural resources raised $4,500 to be given to any teacher in Blount County who applies for scholarship money.

--The Class of 2010 is focusing on health and fitness for children by planning a Wonder Trail, a trail with several stations with activities focusing on early learning and physical activity for young children. The idea is that parents can walk along the trails with their preschool children and complete the activity together.