The new West Knox County Senior Center in Farragut had its dedication ceremony this past Monday, and the Rotary Club of Farragut and the Rotary Club of Bearden were front and center as part of the celebration. The two clubs worked together to fund the center’s new outdoor recreation area.
With matching funds from Rotary District 6780, this $11,500 project provided six raised planter boxes, eight steel picnic-style tables with seats, including two with umbrellas, four patio benches, two outdoor baseball corn hole games, four corn hole games, and gardening supplies and plants. Farragut Rotary’s contribution to the new area was $5,000 and Bearden chipped in with $700.
“This is a great outdoor recreation area – the benches and raised gardens, the tables and games – we didn’t have any of that and it’s wonderful that the Farragut and Bearden Rotary clubs put this project together for us and made it happen,” said Darrell Gooding, the coordinator of the Senior Center.
As part of the ceremonies, a plaque of appreciation mounted on the building was unveiled. Just below the Rotary emblem are these words: “Dedicated to the physical, social and intellectual well-being of the senior citizens of Knox County.”
There for the celebration were Rev. David Bluford, president of Farragut Rotary, Immediate Past President Ed Jones, who began the project during his year as president in 2019-2020, Ron Williams, the mayor of Farragut who is also in the Farragut Rotary Club, and Janice Mitchell of Bearden Rotary, who also serves as a Rotary District 6780 Assistant Governor.
The Rotarian most instrumental in making this happen was Becky Duncan, past president of Farragut Rotary and chair of its International Service and Grants Committee. She missed the ceremonies, out of town visiting family in Wyoming.
The center, at 239 Jamestowne Blvd. just off Campbell Station Road, had its opening delayed due to the COVID pandemic. Gooding said in its first month it has had approximately 2,500 seniors through its doors. The center is open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and offers a variety of clubs, classes, health and educational opportunities for adults 50 and over. Computers, foreign language, arts, music, cards, fitness and many other classes are offered.
The top floor of the facility houses the Community Center for the Town of Farragut, including a gym and an assembly room.
To explore membership in the Rotary Club of Farragut, call 865-659-3562. Farragut Rotary meets each Wednesday at 12:15 p.m. at Fox Den Country Club. Tom King, a past president of Farragut Rotary, has served at newspapers in Georgia, Tennessee, Texas and California and has been the editor of two newspapers.