CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – (CLARKSVILLENOW) Clarksville-Montgomery County could one day be the home of something very special for all Tennesseans. In April of 2015, state lawmakers approved a resolution for a steering committee to explore the establishment of a Tennessee State Hall of Fame.
Monday, State Senator Mark Green, State Representatives Curtis Johnson, Joe Pitts, Jay Reedy and Montgomery County Mayor Jim Durrett attended a presentation by Dr. Dewey Browder, a member of the committee, to learn more about the progress, plans, and future hopes for the project.
Browder shared the steering committee’s mission for the hall of fame. “The mission of the Tennessee State Hall of Fame is to honor the men and women who have brought fame and fortune to the state of Tennessee since frontier days,” said Browder.
The committee has been formed with representatives from east, middle and west Tennessee or as Browder said, border to border and the organization has also received their state and federal nonprofit status.
Goals for the project include serving as a civic education center to share the state’s history and the role of the state in the nation’s history as well as becoming an integral part of downtown Clarksville and a destination point.
On Tuesday, Browder and local committee members Ann Waddle and Joe Fillippo briefed Tennessee Deputy Governor, Jim Henry, on their plans for the Tennessee State Hall of Fame. Henry said he would include the committee’s funding request in the Governor’s Budget Submission.
That request to the governor includes funding for a facility to house the Tennessee State Hall of Fame. The steering committee is in the process of considering possible sites in downtown Clarksville. Browder is also scheduled to meet with Clarksville Mayor Kim McMillan in the near future about the project.