By Ron Barry
Managing Editor
As a former football coach, Crockett County Director of Schools Phillip A. Pratt admires persistence when he sees it. And just as with a blocking sled, sometimes it takes several hits to move it far enough to achieve the success originally desired.
When pursuing government grants, persistence is a key ingredient – and Pratt is grateful that he has a staff that doesn’t give up easily in the chase for State of Tennessee dollars.
And on that rare occasion when an application scores on the first attempt – as School Health Director Misty Bailey managed on her latest effort – the citizens of Crockett County reap the quickest benefits.
Pratt and Bailey announced Monday that the Crockett County Board of Education has received a $450,000 grant from the Tennessee Department of Health’s “Project Diabetes” initiative, which will enable the Board to expand the new BlueCross Healthy Place park in front of the high school over the next three years.
“The grant is a reimbursement grant, so we will apply it over the next three fiscal years,” Bailey said. “We’re already more than halfway through this fiscal year, so we hope to have Phase 1 of the project completed this coming spring. Then, sometime after July 1 when the new fiscal year starts, we’ll begin work on Phase 2.”
Phase 1 will include all the necessary dirt work for the entire project, followed by the construction of a quarter-mile walking trail that will meander along the border of the 2.58-acre parcel. The trail will be an asphalt walkway that is eight feet wide throughout its path. About half of the land area within the trail will be sodded for the creation of an open sports field that can be used for soccer, flag football, “or just a place for a Dad to throw a football or baseball with his kid,” said Pratt.
Phase 2 will feature a 20×40-foot pavilion and the creation of two outdoor “sport court” areas: one that will include three pickleball courts, and another that will be equipped for both basketball and volleyball. Each court pad will be approximately 102×60 feet, with a sidewalk located between the two pads.
When the third fiscal year rolls around, Phase 3 will add a climbing tower to the existing playground to make the area more appealing to older elementary children. Phase 3 will also incorporate any necessary final landscaping for the entire project.
“We have always said that our goal is to be community-oriented,” Pratt said, “and these additional phases will truly make this park a place that the entire community – no matter what age – can use. Right now, the playground area mostly favors younger kids, and there isn’t that much for adults to do. But when the other phases are complete, there will be something for everyone in a family to participate in.”
Pratt envisions a time when children can be on the playground, and parents can either be active on the walking trail or playing pickleball, currently the fastest-growing sport among adults in the country. Teenagers can be shooting basketball or playing volleyball, if the standards are in place at that certain time.
The “Project Diabetes” initiative of the TDOH was designed “to address the burden of preventable chronic disease on its citizens.” Its purpose is “to fund primary prevention projects that aim to prevent disease from ever occurring. Such prevention is implemented through the utilization of policy, systems, and environmental changes (PSE) within the communities of Tennessee.”
The State awarded competitive grants in two categories:
“Category A” grants: Applicants may apply for a grant of up to three (3) years with funds not to exceed $150,000 per year, for a maximum total of $450,000. This is the one secured by Crockett County’s Board.
“Category B” grants: Applicants may apply for a grant for smaller, community-based projects of up to two years with funds not to exceed $15,000 per year, for a maximum total of $30,000.
Funding priorities for the grant cycle for 2022-2025 focus on two goals: (1) Creating equitable food and beverage environments that ensure that healthy food and beverage options are the routine, easy choice; (2) Making physical activity an integral and routine part of life for all Tennesseans.
The Crockett Board was one of only 21 entities awarded the Category A grant, and Bailey was especially happy that this one was successful on the initial application.
“I’ve been involved with some that took several tries,” she said, “but this one came on the first attempt. I think it speaks to the quality of the BlueCross Healthy Place playground as a starting point. But I certainly didn’t do this by myself. This project had a lot of input from all of our staff, and it’s very satisfying when the team efforts get rewarded like this.”
Only three of the other grant awardees are directly involved with schools: Maury County Schools, Morgan County Schools, and Murfreesboro City Schools. Among the other recipients are the City of Memphis, Knox County Health Department, Middle Tennessee State University, Nashville Farmer’s Market, and Nourish Knoxville, Inc., so Crockett’s effort made a splash alongside some much larger communities.
The high school property is also currently in the process of converting its football field to a turf surface, with massive loads of dirt already moved and the remainder waiting upon drier weather. Much of the dirt removed from the football field was added to the grant site area, helping prepare it for the Phase 1 undertaking.
“We try to save money any way we can,” Pratt said. “Every little bit helps.”
