Birthday marks 45 for Town
Farrragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen recognized Town Founders’ contributions as Mayor Ron Williams proclaimed Founders Week — Monday, Jan. 13 through Friday, Jan. 17 — during the Board’s meeting Thursday, Jan. 9.
In doing so, the mayor marked the anniversary of its incorporation, which took place 45 years ago.
The proclamation read, “Whereas, residents of the southwest corner of Knox County area were concerned about low development standards and unfettered commercial development in the 1970s; and
“… a dedicated group of men and women grew weary of having their concerns ignored by Knox County government; and whereas, this Farragut Community Group, being concerned that what was known as the Concord community would be annexed by the city of Knoxville, took on the task of incorporating a new municipality, with its own elected body and planning commission, in 1979.
It also read, “Whereas, the effort required the group to devote countless hours to registering voters, creating a map of the Town’s boundaries and convincing neighbors that incorporation could be accomplished with no new taxes
“... after incorporation was achieved on Jan. 16, 1980, the group continued to fight against annexation and for its share of sales tax revenue.
“Whereas, the Farragut Community Group was ultimately successful in defending the new municipality, named for Civil War naval hero Adm. David (Glasgow) Farragut, and elected its first Board of Mayor and Aldermen on April 1, 1980; and whereas, the Town of Farragut continues to define quality of life with a beautiful, close-knit, connected community where families and businesses thrive.
“Now, Therefore, the Board of Mayor and Aldermen of Farragut, Tennessee, does hereby designate the third week of January as Founders Week to recognize the contributions of Farragut Community Group members Ralph McGill, Eric Johnson, Betty Dick, Ron Simandl, Gene McNalley, George Dorsey and David Rodgers and express appreciation for the hard work that resulted in the incorporation of the Town of Farragut.”
