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Great Smoky Mountains Superintendent wins leadership award from Public Lands Alliance

The Great Smoky Mountains Association said it nominated Superintendent Cassius Cash for "his steadfast commitment to leading the Smokies."

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash was recognized by the Public Lands Alliance with its Agency Leadership Award, according to a release from the Great Smoky Mountains Association.

The Agency Leadership Award recognizes a public land management agency employee for outstanding accomplishments in championing, cultivating and leading partnerships, according to the release. 

The Great Smoky Mountains Association said it nominated Superintendent Cash for "his steadfast commitment to leading the Smokies throughout the last six years and for demonstrating outstanding guidance through a difficult year wrought with fear, isolation and social unrest."

Superintendent Cash was presented with the award during a virtual celebration on Monday. 

In 2015, Cash became the first-ever African American superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

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The Great Smoky Mountains Association said he has since led the park through situations as diverse as the 100th birthday of the National Park Service, the devastating Chimney Tops 2 Fire in November 2016, and the immense visitation numbers during 2017’s Total Solar Eclipse—all while demonstrating an authentic, honest approach to relationship-building in the park.

“Superintendent Cash is changing the park’s culture by tackling important issues and having difficult conversations,” Smokies Education Branch Coordinator Susan Sachs said.

Last year, Cash led the most-visited national park through a pandemic with the development and implementation of a COVID-SAFE operations plan in collaboration with the Great Smoky Mountains Association, which runs the bookstores in park visitor centers, according to the release.

The association said he has also used his partnership prowess to address two major issues in groundbreaking ways.

First, like many other busy national parks, the Smokies is experiencing unsustainable levels of visitation. 

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The Great Smoky Mountains Association said Cash has made it a priority to involve local people in finding solutions through Visitor Experience Stewardship discussions—holding Zoom meetings with gateway community members to make them aware of the issues, gather their input, and seek solutions together.

Second, Cash created an initiative that extends beyond the park’s boundary to make a positive impact throughout the southeast region, gaining national media attention. 

In response to the deaths of unarmed African Americans and the nationwide social justice movement that followed, Superintendent Cash created Smokies Hikes for Healing, an initiative that utilized the park for eight guided hikes that would each allow 10 individuals from the region to participate. He selected highly trained facilitators to join each hike and lead groups in thought-provoking private discussions to recognize and confront the long-standing ills associated with racism.

RELATED: Smokies 'Hikes for Healing' takes meaningful steps for racism conversations

"I needed to clear my head on what we're going through as a country and as a world and went for a hike. Hiking in the Smokies is a sanctuary. I was hiking in the park and I found myself being restored and open to new perspectives. And I felt if I gained this, what would it do for my fellow community members and citizens?" Cash said during an interview with 10News in July 2020.

Laurel Rematore, CEO of Great Smoky Mountains Association and the organization’s primary liaison with park leadership, said that “the Smokies provide superintendents with nonstop challenges that play out on a national stage under the constant, relentless scrutiny of the media and area business leaders. Superintendent Cash faces the challenges and pushes his park staff and partner organizations toward embracing the opportunity that lies within each challenge.

“Cash pays attention to the concerns partners express, then works for all involved to have a shared understanding of those concerns, examine the stakes, and arrive at solutions by consensus,” Rematore said. “Consensus-building takes a lot of time, trust, and work to achieve, but Cash does not settle for anything less.”

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