By CHRIS MENEES
Staff Reporter
There was a sense of unity Thursday in the Twin Cities.
Community leaders and residents representing two cities, two counties and two states came together at midday to celebrate the opening of South Fulton's park - Unity Park. A large crowd gathered under sunny skies in front of a pavilion stage at the new park off East State Line as South Fulton Mayor Ed Cassetty and park benefactor Jeff Campbell officially dedicated the recreational area.
The downtown park was a vision for Campbell, a South Fulton resident and Fulton native who personally provided the $250,000 in matching funds for a Local Parks and Recreation Fund Grant, a 50/50 matching grant awarded through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. For its design, he partnered with A2H - Askew Hargraves Harcourt & Associates Inc., a Memphis-based firm of engineers, architects, planners, landscape architects and land surveyors.
The park, constructed by McKinney Construction Co., encompasses about four acres of land bounded by Broadway Street, State Line Road, Harris Fork Creek and Wade Street. The first phase is geared toward children, exercise and community beautification, providing a green space which features a lake and fountain, an open-air amphitheater, a playground, a walking trail, picnic space and a parking area. Cassetty introduced Campbell as "the chief dreamer, chief planner, chief motivator and a matching fund provider."
Campbell said Thursday marked a special day in the Twin Cities of South Fulton and Fulton, with the new park and its sister project - an adjacent gateway arch that spans East State Line from the new Unity Park to the existing Pontotoc Park - representing "the biggest transformation of our downtown in over 40 years." He said many people have asked why he continually sponsors and promotes projects such as the park.
"We needed to clean up and beautify this area of town, and I really wanted an inviting and open green space in our town's center that would welcome anybody from any direction that drove through or stopped in the Twin Cities," Campbell said. "I wanted to create a gathering place - a place where families could walk and play and cook and fellowship. I wanted a larger space for our Banana Festival and for other special events that the community might hold.
"And, most of all, I wanted to create something special for the citizens of Fulton and South Fulton because, you see, I really believe in a moral imperative that if God blesses you in this lifetime, which He certainly has me, then you have an obligation to give back - and that's what gets me up everyday and that's what motivates me every single day." Campbell said the new Unity Park adds about four acres of green space to the Twin Cities' core downtown business district and is designed to complement Fulton's Pontotoc Park across the street, adding sufficient parking for both areas. He also shared his vision for the new archway across East State Line that was dedicated in an official ribbon-cutting ceremony immediately after the park dedication.
"It connects two parks, it connects two communities, two counties and two states - and that, ladies and gentlemen, was an opportunity that I couldn't let pass by," he said. Campbell explained the vision of Unity Park dates back to June 2010 when the Let's Paint the Town community beautification program was launched. He said he and Garrett Hutchins of Fulton had finished painting at the former Twin Cities Auto Parts building and made some observations as they paused for traffic. To the north, they saw the beauty of Pontotoc Park; to the south, they saw dilapidated houses, abandoned streets and road beds, glass, brick and weeds in an area formerly known as skid row. He said not long after - and "what really sealed the deal" - he was driving through downtown on a Saturday morning and saw Johnny Lucy of South Fulton doing some dirtwork in the area of East State Line. He said Lucy had quietly been buying parcels of land in the area with the same idea of doing something for South Fulton.
In March 2012, Campbell met for the first time with A2H engineers and architects, whom he lauded for their "gift to take dreams, visions and conversations and turn them into something of reality." He said Twin Cities native Ryan McDaniel, structures manager for A2H, had a big part in designing the stage pavilion at Unity Park and the arch which now spans East State Line. Campbell and Cassetty both recognized a number of land donors who generously donated property for the new park. Campbell said they sliced together 32 parcels for the four-acre area. Both also noted the support of insurance agent Tim Britt in securing a $25,000 State Farm grant that provided park furnishings and many finishing touches, as well as the invaluable assistance of South Fulton city employees and public works crews; a landscape committee that coordinated a memorial tree drive; and a Fulton-South Fulton Rotary Club campaign currently under way to buy and install light poles. The many donors were seated around the park stage Thursday along with a number of local, state, Chamber of Commerce and economic development officials.
Also included were designers and landscape architects from A2H and general contractor Joey McGee. Cassetty praised every South Fulton city department, city manager Debra Craig, the city commission and the city's new parks board for their roles in the park project. He also expressed appreciation to Fulton officials for their support and encouragement throughout the process. The mayor said due to the generosity of others, the City of South Fulton has less than $40,000 invested in the park. "Let's promote this park, above everything else, because what it's about is what you see here - the people - and what you see down here - these children," Cassetty said, pointing to a group of South Fulton Elementary kindergartners seated on the ground in front of the stage.
Felicia Lightner, chairman of South Fulton's parks and recreation board, recognized Carol Boyd as the winner of a recent contest to name the new park. She said there were several excellent submissions, adding that contestants also had to submit the reason why their entry should be chosen. Unity Park is a nod to how residents of South Fulton and Fulton unite to become one community. "Our submission slogan was, 'We worship together, we live together, we work together, we shop together. It equals unity,'" she said. Staff Reporter Chris Menees may be contacted by email at
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