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Loudon City touted for top public vote in Levitt Foundation competition; announcement due Nov. 18
Summary
City leaders and organizers told the council the community finished first in Tennessee in a public vote for a Levitt Foundation amphitheater grant competition; city representatives said the final grant recipient will be announced Nov. 18 and that a community volunteer push powered the public vote.
Loudon City officials and community volunteers told the council on Sept. 22 that the city finished first in Tennessee in the Levitt Foundation’s public-vote round for an amphitheater grant, and they described a grassroots push to get voters to support the city’s application.
Mayor Jeff Harris and Tammy Roberts, a consultant with S3GS Strategies and a member of the local limelight board, credited community volunteers and organizers for the result. Roberts described door-to-door and neighborhood outreach during the public-vote stage and said volunteers encouraged voters to recruit additional voters in their networks.
Roberts told the council that the public-vote field began with roughly 600 entrants and was narrowed to 108 in a national round; Loudon City placed first in Tennessee in that public-vote tally, she said. Council members cautioned that placement in the public vote does not equal receipt of the grant: Roberts said the Levitt Foundation will complete an evaluation and announce grant recipients on Nov. 18.
Council and staff said they had applied for the Levitt grant and had staffed outreach efforts. Mayor Harris said the city hired Tammy Roberts to assist with outreach and credited her for mobilizing volunteers, including staff at city events.
Why it matters A Levitt Foundation amphitheater grant would support cultural programming and could require the city to demonstrate capacity for public engagement and event promotion — the public vote is one element of that evaluation, according to the speakers. No grant award had been confirmed at the Sept. 22 meeting.
What the record shows - City reported being first in Tennessee in the Levitt Foundation public-vote round. - Tammy Roberts and volunteers led community outreach; Roberts is affiliated with S3GS Strategies and the local limelight board. - The city will await the Levitt Foundation’s evaluation and a formal announcement on Nov. 18.
Next steps City staff and volunteers expected a site evaluation by the Levitt Foundation in the weeks before the Nov. 18 announcement. Council did not take formal action related to the Levitt application during the meeting.
