November 10, 2015
Keep Kingsport Beautiful News Release
Contact: Robin Cleary
Director, Keep Kingsport Beautiful
423-392-8814
Keep Kingsport Beautiful Announces the Opening
of Kingsport’s Carousel Park andTree FundFall Planting
Keep Kingsport Beautiful and the City of Kingsport today announced that the ribbon-cutting for Carousel Park will be held on Friday, November 13 at noon in conjunction with the KKB Tree Fund Fall Planting Ceremony.
The Carousel Park was built through a joint effort by the City of Kingsport and Keep Kingsport Beautiful. The KKB Tree Fund, sponsored by Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Homes, recognizes those who have been honored or remembered through a donation to the Tree Fund.
Keep Kingsport Beautiful was recently awarded a $20,000 grant by Lowe’s to support KKB’s mission to make Kingsport a clean, green and more beautiful place to live. The Keep America Beautiful/Lowe’s grant funds were designated by KKB for the design and completion of a park at the recently completed Kingsport Carousel. In addition,KKB provided $2,000 in funding from its Hamlett-Dobson Tree Fund. The City of Kingsport’s Public Works department provided the project management and the City provided $28,000 in project funding. Lowe’s of West Stone Drive provided a $5,000 local grant, along with labor provided by their employees through the Lowe’s Heroes program Boehm Landscape, Inc. provided the landscape design through an in-kind donation and the Sunrise Rotary club provided benches and picnic tables.
“Keep Kingsport Beautiful is very proud to have been one of 20 organizations to receive a $20,000 grant from the KAB/Lowe’s grant program. It speaks highly of our program and its volunteers to be recognized along with communities the size of Austin, TX, Las Vegas, NV and Atlanta, GA,” said Robin Cleary, director of Keep Kingsport Beautiful. “Being a part of adding a much needed park space in downtown Kingsport reaches to the core of KKB’s mission of providing solutions to a clean and beautiful environment in our community. Downtown Kingsport is thriving and growing, with businesses, shoppers, residents, college students and visitors enjoying all that it has to offer. Carousel Park will provide an outdoor recreational space and gathering place for our downtown area adjacent to the Kingsport Carousel and the Farmers Market. Thank you to the City of Kingsport for being the lead on this project, as well as our other community partners for their contributions.”
Each spring and fall, trees are purchased and planted around Kingsport on public land using donations from those who contributed in the past year to the Tree Fund in honor or remembrance of a special individual.
The Tree Fund began in 1986. Since then, more than650 trees have been planted within the community, and thousands of people have been recognized through this program. Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Homes sponsors this community event. Keep Kingsport Beautiful coordinates the Tree Fund program, while the City of Kingsport provides the labor and mulch.
Keep Kingsport Beautiful is an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Tennessee Beautiful, as well as ajoint program of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce and the City of Kingsport.
Hamlett-Dobson Funeral Home has been a trusted family business since 1916. Maintaining the ideals of its founders, their staff of more than 30 individuals continues to serve the community with empathy and integrity. Hamlett-Dobson has sponsored the Tree Fund for 28 years.
Over the past four years, Lowe’s has supported Keep America Beautiful and its affiliates with more than $4 million through nearly 245 Lowe’s grants, with over 1,000 Lowe’s Heroes employee volunteers working alongside community volunteers.
For more information on how you can honor or remember someone special through a contribution to the Tree Fund, contact Robin Cleary at 392-8814, , or visit
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