Great Smoky Mountains Nat Park 75th Anniversary Celebration Continues Today With Park Open House

Join Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson and other park personnel at an open house today from 12 noon to 4 pm at the Sugarlands headquarters as part of the 75th Anniversary Weekend celebration.

The park headquarters just outside the city of Gatlinburg was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in 1940 and will be honored as part of today's celebration as well as a first-of-its-kind behind the scenes view of the Park's day-to-day operations open to anyone and the a unique opportunity to meet and talk with key managers of the Park along with the opportunity to see park equipment up close such as search and rescue, fire and road maintenance vehicles and the offices of the Great Smoky Mountains Association will also be open to the public.

According to Park Superintendent Dale Ditmanson "We will basically showcase how we perform and accomplish our duties, everything from conducting air and water quality research, protecting wildlife, treating nonnative plant and animal species, search and rescue, maintaining historic buildings and cultural landscapes, prioritizing road construction and facilities improvement projects, conducting visitor and educational programs, and carrying out our fiscal responsibilities,"

The winning quilt from the Pigeon Forge 75th Anniversary Smokies Sampler Quilt contest made by Naomi Davis of Sevierville, Tennessee will be held unveiled at 11 am at the visitor center and from 1 pm to 3 pm there will be an easy guided hike to the Sugarlands Civilian Conservation Corps camp via the Old Sugarlands Hiking Trail.

Parking for the event will be at the Sugarlands Visitor Center right next door to the headquarters.

Great Smoky Mountains national park host tourism week and Employee of the year celebration today.

More than 9,000,000 people a year visit the Great Smoky Mountains national park and pump more than 700 million dollars in the to the surrounding communities such as Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Maggie Valley, Townsend, Bryson City, Cherokee, Cosby and more.

Today at 11:30 am a family of tourists will be honored on the lawn of the park headquarters in the Sugarlands as well as the Great Smoky Mountains national park Employee of the year: the Administrative Assistant for the Division of Resource Education, Susan Ross.

The more time is spend intimately involved in the park, the more I see that the people behind the scene such as Susan Ross are what protect this priceless place, enhance every visitors experience and drive the local economies of the gateway cities.

Susan Ross is the coordinator of education and visitor programs throughout the entire Great Smoky Mountains national park making sure that 9 million plus visitors get the most out of their experience in the Smokies.

Her experience in the Great Smoky Mountains national park is not just behind as desk but was in the front lines of the GSMNP as a crew leader in removal of nonnative vegetation, a fire use manager and even an emergency dispatcher.

According the Great Smoky Mountains national parks Superintendent Dale Ditmanson "She has a positive and progressive attitude, willingness to assist and encourage others, ability to coordinate the many activities of a diverse and demanding division, and desire to tackle challenging situations with new, fresh approaches are all attributes that have gained Susan this recognition".

The host and co-producer of WBIR-Knoxville Heartland Series Bill Landry will serve as the Employee of the Year emcee, and the co-hosts of the event include: Pigeon Forge Department of Tourism, Gatlinburg Department of Tourism, Sevierville Chamber of Commerce, Smoky Mountains Visitors Bureau, Cherokee Tribal Travel and Promotions in North Carolina, and Newport/Cocke County Tourism Council.

Congratulations Susan Ross on a job well done. Your work is the Great Smoky Mountains national park has touched many and a legacy of education and love for the Smokies will carry on for generations.