$5,300 donation for Children’s Home

Par 3 Golf owners donate one week’s proceeds casey@theheraldnewspapers.com Kenny and Billy Maples with Maples Brothers Home Builders presented a $5,339 check to the fundraising foundation supporting the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home. The Maples owned and operated the Smoky Mountain Par 3 Golf Course, which they recently opted to close and build condominiums on the site. “And they decided that they were going to donate their last week’s proceeds from the golf course to our organization,” said Todd Rose, executive director for the Cherish the Child Foundation. “That’s a significant donation,” commented Rose. “We have very few donors that give that amount.” “This will significantly help Cherish the Child Foundation meet the goal that they have committed to giving the children’s home this year,” Rose said. The foundation raises money for the children’s home, providing funding for special projects. “We wanted to close one week earlier but decided that it wasn’t going to cost us anymore to stay open another week,” Billy said. He added that Turby Treadway from Privett & Associates sponsored a hole-in-one contest for $1,000 on Hole #17, “but no one got it,” he added. “I was the only one to make a hole-in-one that week,” he said with a smile. “The primary reason we established our foundation was because the children’s home had been there for 80 years but they didn’t get a lot of financial support from the community until the last few years,” said Rose. “We wanted to establish the foundation so we can educate the community about things that are going on over there. And, as we’ve done that, we’ve had more people like you who’ve said ‘now that we know what’s going on over there we’re going to support you,’” Rose said. “Hopefully, this will raise some awareness that the community is willing to help that foundation out,” Billy said. “It helps us tremendously,” Rose replied. With golf on the brain, Rose invited the Maples brothers to participate in the foundation’s tenth annual golf tournament. Last year’s tournament had about 35 teams compete and raised about $30,000, according to Rose. “This year we’re shooting for 40 teams but we’re going to have to increase the size,” Rose said, adding that they would need to get 50 or 60 teams on board to meet that goal. In a couple months work could begin to replace the golf course with a 225-unit luxury condominium resort. According to Sevierville planner Jim Bryant, the Emerald Creek Resort is planned to consist of several four, five and six story buildings. The units will be two, three and four bedroom floor plans ranging from 1,250 to 2,100 square feet. The site plan also calls for luxury amenities such as a clubhouse, a kid’s waterpark, a 200-foot lazy river and pool with a stone waterfall & tunnel.