Reflecting on our First Full Year and Looking to the Future
We welcome fall in The Parklands as it marks one year of having two full parks open to the public. Since our latest opening on September 6, 2013, we have had more than 1,115,000 visits to Beckley Creek and Pope Lick Parks, and we’re well on our way to reaching 1 million visits in 2014.
Each month we welcome new and returning visitors, and each of you contributes to making this unique parks project a success. We look forward to many more visits!
As excited as we are for the success of our northern parks, there’s also been a lot happening in the south this year. Construction is moving quickly and we are currently on track for opening the remainder of The Parklands in late 2015/early 2016. Sections of the Louisville Loop are being installed and several new bridges are being constructed as we speak. Design plans for attractions like the Brown-Forman Silo Center, the Cliffside Playground and Sprayground, and the Woodland Garden, are being finalized and we could not be more excited for what’s to come.
Another encouraging and exciting building project is underway- the construction of a solid member base for supporting the annual operations of The Parklands. Each year 21st Century Parks must raise more than $1 million to keep The Parklands of Floyds Fork clean, safe, fun, and beautiful. Support from visitors like you will ensure The Parklands will always be a free and open space for our entire community to enjoy.
We believe these parks will enhance the quality of life and help our community and economy grow in ways that are healthful, sustainable, and enjoyable. But we cannot be successful without your help.
Our goal is to convert 3,000 of you to members this year, but we’re not quite there yet. We still need about 1,000 more members and to raise $200,000 more to reach our goals for 2014.
If you’ve been considering donating, now is a great time. If you’re already a member, thank you for your contribution, we hope you will consider renewing or increasing your membership level in 2015. Memberships also make a great gift for birthdays and holidays.
Thank you, as always, for your visitation and your support as members,volunteers, visitors and advocates. We hope you’ll join us for the many exciting events we have planned this fall!
Click here to support us through membership.
About the Author
Dan Jones
A native of Louisville, Kentucky, Dan holds degrees from Yale University (B.A., M.F.) and Indiana University, Bloomington (Ph.D.). He has spent much of his working life in the fields of education and business management. In addition to founding and managing his own business, he taught World History and the History of the American West at the University of Louisville, and most recently, an Honors Seminar entitled “Reading the Natural Landscape.” In 2004, he founded 21st Century Parks, Inc. a nonprofit corporation created to bring fresh vision to the development and preservation of new public parklands. Their current project, The Parklands of Floyds Fork, is one of the largest new metropolitan parks projects in the country: almost 4000 acres of new, donor-supported public park system in the last major undeveloped section of Metro Louisville. Dan is the founder of 21st Century Parks/The Parklands and currently serves as the Board Chair, where he oversees fundraising, planning, design, construction, and operations of the new parks. He is married, with four children, and enjoys hiking, camping and fishing with his family, skiing, running, and reading.