Sevierville to Celebrate Tree City USA Status with Town Square Event

An event to honor Sevierville’s dedication to management of public trees and Tree City USA designation will feature historical presentations, speeches by local officials, music and free seedlings.

The City of Sevierville Trees/Trails and Beautification Board will celebrate its 32nd year as a Tree City USA with a celebration beginning at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 13, 2016 at the Town Square in downtown Sevierville (intersection of Court Avenue and Main Street). Parking will be available in the adjacent County parking lot and across the street, as well as on-street parking in the downtown area.

There are 40 Tree City USA cities in the State of Tennessee and Sevierville is proud to be the third-oldest Tree City USA in Tennessee.

The ceremony will feature speakers and presentations from the Sevierville Intermediate Beta Club; Tennessee Division of Forestry; Sevierville Mayor Bryan Atchley; and Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters. The Sevier County High School choir will perform, and there will be a reading of the names of individuals with a tree memorial or honorary tree in the past year. The Sevier County Electric System will be presented with their sixth Tree Line USA Award. SCES will provide an evergreen tree for Town Square to replace a damaged tree.

In recognition of the recent 30th anniversary renovations of Town Square, presentations on the Town Square history will be made by Lincoln Memorial University Dean of Law and former Tennessee Supreme Court Chief Justice Gary R. Wade; local historian Carroll McMahan; and Homecoming ’86 Director Jane Radar. Also, the Trees/Trails and Beautification Board will provide a limited quantity of free seedlings and have 1920’s era prints of the old Town Square for sale.

The City of Sevierville Trees/Trails and Beautification Board continues to make efforts to improve urban tree care and benefits to the citizens of Sevierville. Find out more about the Memorial Tree Program.

The Tree City USA program is a national program administered by the Arbor Day Foundation that provides the framework for community forestry management for cities and towns across America. Communities achieve Tree City USA status by meeting four core standards of sound urban forestry management: maintaining a tree board or department, having a community tree ordinance, spending at least $2 per capita on urban forestry and celebrating Arbor Day. Participating communities have demonstrated a commitment to caring for and managing their public trees. Together the more than 3,400 Tree City USA communities serve as home to more than 135 million Americans.