The Lookout Mountain Conservancy (LMC) will hold its annual Lowcountry Shrimp Boil on Thursday, July 24, beginning at 6 p.m.
The 12th annual event is a party unlike any other in Chattanooga.
Held at LMC’s beautiful bouldering park in St. Elmo - the South’s first urban, natural, public bouldering park - the Shrimp Boil brings together our large LMC family. There’s dinner from 1885 Grill, plenty of drinks - wine, beer and non-alcoholic - along with music, all overlooking the Tennessee River.
Best of all?
Jimmie will be there. And Jada and John, Jason and Aasean, and all our Howard Leadership Program interns, young men and women from The Howard School whose engaging presence and stories are unforgettable.
You can talk with Joy, who just became a U.S. naturalized citizen. Or Quintez, who’s attending Tuskegee University this fall.
These are the LMC Howard Leadership Program interns.
“Before I joined Lookout Mountain Conservancy, life was just survival,” said Jada, among LMC’s graduating Howard School seniors. “But now? I’m confident. I’m leading. I’m helping my family. And I’ve got a plan,” she said. “That’s what LMC gave me. A future, and the strength to chase it.”
The Shrimp Boil serves as LMC’s annual fundraiser for The Howard Leadership Program. Since 2012, the program has employed and mentored dozens of high school and college-bound students from Howard, offering life-and-career-ready skills through land stewardship and conservation.
Like Jason.
“Before I joined Lookout Mountain Conservancy, I was doing nothing. ... Not working, not planning, not thinking about my future,” he said.
“Then, something clicked. I came into this program just trying to get by,” he said. “I’m leaving it knowing who I am, and who I want to be.”
The LMC interns are responsible for stewarding and caring for so many beloved places: the Boulders at Old Wauhatchie Pike - the South’s first natural, urban bouldering park - and the Guild-Hardy trail, LMC’s food forest and urban garden.
Our supporters help with college tuition. LMC graduates boast a 100 percent graduation rate from The Howard School.
The Shrimp Boil makes this possible.
“This is a party to celebrate the wide and wonderful LMC community,” said Robyn Carlton, CEO and president. “It’s a way to support all our interns. After all, everyone’s got a story. The question is: can we take the time to listen?”
Tickets are $75 and include dinner and drinks. They can be purchased at lookoutmountainconservancy.org or here.
Corporate friends are encouraged to purchase tables for the event, held at the beloved “party spot” high on the LMC campus near the boulders and garden.