Historic Downtown Clinton, Joey Smith win tourism awards
Stephanie Wells, left, director of Adventure Anderson County; Katherine Birkbeck, executive director of Historic Downtiown Clinton; and Taylor Martin, board member of Historic Downtown Clinton, show off the two awards the Clinton organization won recently from the Middle East Tennessee Tourism Council.
They included one for the Mosaic Arts Festival held in the downtown area in April.
And Clinton real estate agent Joey Smith, who is this year’s chairman of the board of Historic Downtown Clinton, was given the Chuck Davis Leadership Award as the Tourism Volunteer of the Year in the Middle East Tennessee region.
Clinton’s third-annual Mosaic Arts Festival was named the Best Event/Festival for 2023 in the 16-county region of the council, which includes Knox and surrounding counties in the so-called Nine Lakes region of East Tennessee.
“The Historic Downtown Clinton committee has worked hard to develop and grow quality, authentic events aimed not only at engaging our community, but also attracting visitors to our area, which in turn positively impacts our economy,” said Stephanie Wells, director of Adventure Anderson County, the tourism organization for the county.
“I could not be more thrilled that of all the things we did this year, these were the two that got recognized,” said Katherine Birkbeck, executive director of
Historic Downtown Clinton.
“Our partnerships with our amazing public schools for Mosaic goes to show the best of what can be accomplished when a community supports public education and really truly cares about kids being part of the future of their community,” she said.
As for Smith’s award for his volunteer work for Historic Downtown Clinton, Birkbeck said:
“Nobody works harder and loves Clinton more than Joey Smith. Allowing history to shape our future is something that Joey is very passionate about, and I’m very excited about the ways his work and dedication [are] continually shaping our downtown.”
Last year’s Mosaic Arts Festival on Market Street included art vendors, caricatures, a paint bus, face painting, chalk art, STEM activities, crafts, a petting zoo and a series of live performances.
The Clinton High School Jazz Band performed for the event, along with the Clinton City Schools’ Ukulele Club, sixth-grade band, and color guard.
Knoxville’s Children’s Theater was also on hand to perform songs and the Dream Dance Studio showcased its young dancers.
There was also a children’s story time with Poppy Wise, author and designer of “I Want to be a French Fry.”
Clinton Middle School and CHS music, dance and cheer also participated in the festival.
As for Joey Smith’s role in Historic Downtown Clinton, he was described this way in the organization’s nomination of him for the award:
“Our community gets a little bit stronger and shines a little bit brighter each and every day because of Joey Smith. He serves as the vice chair for our foundation that works to revitalize Historic Downtown Clinton while preserving the town’s unique history.
“Our success over the last three years in economic development, promotion, design and events is in large part due to Joey Smith.”