Randy and Jenny Boyd, with the Boyd Foundation, announced Friday that 15 communities across Tennessee will be awarded grants totaling over $400,000 to help make the state the most pet-friendly in the nation.
Dozens of communities worked all year long to organize residents, coordinate with local officials, mobilize on social media and host pet-friendly events to compete to win a $25,000 grant to build or improve an existing dog park in their community. One community, Johnson City, who went above and beyond the requirements, will receive the $100,000 grand prize grant as one of the “Most Dog-Friendly” communities in Tennessee.
“Jenny and I love to see the enthusiasm for our pets from so many Tennessee communities who competed for these grants,” said Mr. Boyd, co-founder of The Boyd Foundation. “We are honored to support them in their work. We have been impressed with the dozens of parks built from Dog Park Dash grants over the last three years and cannot wait to see how these new winners make their communities a better place for people and pets.”
The full list of winning communities for the 2021 Tennessee Dog Park Dash grants includes:
Grand Prize: Johnson City
Other 2021 Grant Winners:
East Tennessee: Charleston, Decatur, East Ridge/Chattanooga, Gatlinburg, Sweetwater
Middle Tennessee: Ardmore, Cheatham Co., Clifton, Dickson, Tullahoma
West Tennessee: Beech River/Lexington, Huntington, Savannah, Shelby Farms/Memphis
In 2018, the Boyd Foundation announced a commitment of $3 million and launched the Dog Park Dash to build 100 dog parks across the state of Tennessee. To date, the Boyd Foundation and Dog Park Dash have already awarded over 80 deserving communities with their local grants. A full list of previous winners can be found at dogparkdash.com.