Anonymous donation rocks the national park
An anonymous donor gifted $2.2 million to Great Smoky Mountains Association last week, one of the largest cash donations ever given to support Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The donation will be made in five installments between through 2018.
In addition to anonymity, the donor stipulated that the money go toward paying off the existing construction loan for Oconaluftee Visitor Center, which was funded by the Great Smoky Mountains Association. The donation will also pay for new construction loan GSMA took out to help build the Collections Preservation Center.
The preservation center will be built in Townsend, Tenn., to house more than 144,000 artifacts, 220,000 archival records and 275 linear feet of library materials documenting the history of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and four other national park units in East Tennessee.
“I am overwhelmed by gratitude to this selfless donor whose generosity reflects a deep and abiding love for the Great Smokies,” said William Hart, chairman of GSMA’s board of directors.
