Sam Elliott, Steve Smith and Rick Nunley
photo by Gail Perry
Steve Smith with the Soddy Daisy Montlake Historical Association was honored with an award for his contributions toward promoting historic preservation and the study of history in Tennessee at the Soddy Daisy commission meeting on Thursday night.
Sam Elliott, made the presentation of the Certificate of Merit to Mr. Smith, not as the city’s attorney, but as the vice chairman of the Tennessee Historical Commission. This organization works to protect, preserve, interpret, maintain and study historic places for the benefit of future generations.
Mr.
Smith was nominated for books and public programming, but received the Certificate of Merit Program award for the Special Commendation category, one of only five that are awarded each year. Accomplishments with his various books and public programming such as Pioneer Days in Soddy Daisy have spanned a number of years, not only in 2020, said Mr. Elliott.
The current state of baseball in Soddy Daisy and plans for the future were under discussion at the commission meeting. Commissioner Jim Coleman said he had met with the Soddy Daisy High School Boosters Club. This group has a lot of input with organizers of baseball tournaments. Commissioner Coleman was told that the city has lost out hosting games and tournaments because of the current condition of the fields. But the city is working hard going forward to making improvements in hopes of attracting tournaments, he said. The Booster’s Club has given guidelines that are used when scheduling tournaments and Soddy Daisy will have to comply to meet those standards, he told the other commissioners.
The city would benefit from games played in Soddy Daisy by receiving all proceeds from the concession stands during those games. After one recent tournament, the city received $2,000 from concessions. And for the same event, sales were up $8,000 at a nearby gas station. That means increased sales tax, said the commissioner.
The city has asked for the Boosters Club to provide a comprehensive list of improvements that are needed to the fields and they will be asked to attend a commission workshop to discuss it, said Commissioner Coleman.
Mayor Rick Nunley said that in the month of July, over $1 million in building permits were issued in Soddy Daisy. "We are still growing," he said.
Steve Smith with family
photo by Gail Perry