Bell Buckle Park Board members are, from left, Jenny Hunt, Carla Webb, Katherine Strobel, Florence Hall, James Anderson and Larry Lowman. (Submitted photo) [Click to enlarge]

Monday evening's rainfall provided an eye-catching scene of rich greenery Tuesday morning at Bell Buckle Park, making it easy to see why the park earned the 2008 Governor's Environmental Stewardship Award for Parks and Recreation.

Bell Buckle Park is a community treasure and the Governor's award is more than gratifying to those who put countless hours of blood, sweat and tears into the park that now serves as a tangible reminder to what Bell Buckle is all about.

"I think all of the trees -- along with the community spirit -- took us a long way in earning this award," said Jenny Hunt, chairman of the park. "This is not a small towns' category; it is for all parks within the state of Tennessee. We may be small, but our big heart is what makes us special.

"The Bell Buckle Park Board had considered the nomination as a major honor; never did we suspect that we would actually get the full nod."

It its 22nd year, the Governor's Environmental Stewardship Awards program recognizes exemplary voluntary actions that improve or protect environmental and natural resources with projects or initiatives that are not required by law or regulations.

Thirty-nine professionals from various public and private organizations judged more than 100 nominations to determine 14 environmental stewardship award winners.

"In 1996, the town of Bell Buckle voted for a 1/2 cent sales tax to establish a park fund," said Hunt. "In 2002, after the old Bell Buckle School and surrounding 14 acres were officially designated as the Bell Buckle Park site, a survey was conducted to discover the interests, needs and desires of the community for their park."

After taking survey results into consideration, the park was created by renovating the old Bell Buckle Elementary School property.

This area, which was formerly prone to flooding, was reclaimed by the construction of a half mile asphalt walking path, a playground, a picnic pavilion, a Poet's Garden, and the planting of more than 500 tree ceilings. Also, plans are underway for the completion of an amphitheater which is expected to be complete sometime this summer.

Hunt said the trees, personal touches and a board who truly cares make this park deserving of the esteemed award.

The playground is in memory of board member James Anderson's late son, Ward Anderson, who died in 2005; the pavilion was built in honor of late P.G. and Ruth Lents Coop; active community resident James Elkins built the benches that lay in the Poet's Corner, created through the 2007 Bedford Beginnings class (in honor of Tennessee Poet Laureate Margaret Britton "Maggi" Vaughn); and the future amphitheater is coming together thanks to a former Leadership Bedford class.

Memorial bricks set below the park's many poplars also give the park a personal touch, and these may be purchased for $125.

"We have the best Board," said Hunt. "We are creative with our financing and we try to emphasize our strengths."

Board members have ensured that funds, garnered through a Recreation Trail Program grant, many fundraisers and private donations, and the 1/2 cent tax have been spent wisely, she said.

The park has many events planned for this summer, including the annual Fourth of July cookout and car rally.

"This year we'll also have a volleyball game before the cookout and then an encore production of the RC-Moon Pie Festival's Synchronized Wading, 'A Midsummer Nightmare," Hunt said.

Other plans include a movie night in August, a barbecue cook-off in late August and a celebration of the Ward Anderson playground in October, where it is hoped that a sculpture of Ward, made by Russ Faxon, will be unveiled.

"This is all still relatively new," said board member James Anderson. "I think we're going to start seeing a lot of traffic here."