Smokies Life CEO recognized with lifetime achievement award
Laurel Rematore. Smokes Life staff photo
Laurel Rematore, CEO of Smokies Life, will be recognized with the Excellence in Cooperating Association Partnership Award at the National Park Service’s Excellence in Service Awards to be held Aug. 21 in Washington, D.C.
This lifetime achievement award recognizes an individual who has made significant and lasting contributions throughout their career to strengthen partnerships between the National Park Service and cooperating associations.
Rematore has served the cooperating association community across two decades in numerous leadership roles. Following a corporate career in the aerospace industry, she followed her passion for public lands, transitioning to a position with the Yosemite Association as membership and development director (2001–2008). She then became the executive director of the Mesa Verde Museum Association (2008–2015) before taking the helm of Smokies Life, a nonprofit partner to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, in 2016.
During her eight-year tenure, Rematore has guided Smokies Life through both historic challenges and a number of notable achievements: providing financial and in-kind support of basic park visitor services during government shutdowns and the COVID-19 pandemic; creating an employee–retiree relief fund in the aftermath of the 2016 Gatlinburg-area fires; supporting Superintendent Cassius Cash’s 2021 Smokies Hikes for Healing initiative; forming a diverse, compensated publications advisory committee; supporting the 2023 launch of the Park It Forward parking tag program; rebranding the organization and its membership program in 2024; and increasing the organization’s annual financial support of Great Smoky Mountains National Park to $1.75 million in 2024, bringing the total amount contributed to the park since the organization’s founding from $35 million in 2015 (prior to her tenure) to more than $50 million by 2023.
The Excellence in Cooperating Association Partnership Award recognizes an individual who has made significant and lasting contributions throughout their career to strengthen partnerships between the National Park Service and cooperating associations. The NPS Excellence in Service Awards ceremony is open to the public and will be held in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 3 p.m. Attendees should register by Wednesday, Aug. 7. Learn more at give.nationalparks.org.
