The $750,000 donation helps Friends of the Smokies reach the finish line of a six-year campaign to complete the ‘Forever Places’ endowment that funds a historic preservation crew in the Great Smoky Mountains.
KODAK, Tenn. – Continuing a longtime dedication to philanthropic giving, The Boyd Foundation has announced a $750,000 donation to the nonprofit Friends of the Smokies for the preservation of historic structures in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Boyd Foundation was launched in 2017 by Jenny and Randy Boyd along with their sons and daughter-in-law, Harrison, Thomas, and Lindsey. The Boyds’ gift carries Friends of the Smokies across the finish line of a multiyear effort to fully endow the Forever Places program in the national park.
The $9 million Forever Places endowment provides annual funding for up to six highly skilled crew members to preserve and protect some of the most iconic places in the Smokies. With specialized skills in historic masonry and woodworking, the crew authentically preserves more than 120 historic structures throughout Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
“The Great Smoky Mountains have shaped who we are,” said Randy and Jenny Boyd. “Growing up, these mountains were a place of wonder, reflection, and deep connection for our family. Supporting Friends of the Smokies Forever Places is our way of ensuring that the beauty, history, and cultural significance of this extraordinary landscape are preserved for future generations. Protecting these places strengthens our community, honors our heritage, and sustains the vitality of East Tennessee for years to come.”
“We’re tremendously grateful to The Boyd Foundation for this generous gift,” said Dana Soehn, President and CEO of Friends of the Smokies. “The job of preserving historic structures in the park never ends and it requires a perpetual source of funding. Time and nature constantly take a toll on the priceless cabins, churches, and barns that allow visitors to experience authentic history in the Smokies. It requires specialized care from an expert crew that uses traditional materials and techniques.”
The Forever Places endowment was created in 2020 with the goal of funding a permanent six-person team to rehabilitate and maintain historic structures in the Smokies. Generous donations since 2020 have allowed the national park to get started with a partial crew that has already made an immense impact.
The Forever Places crew has already completed large scale rehabilitations at the Walker Sisters Cabin, Little Greenbrier Schoolhouse, the Chapman-Byers Cabin in Elkmont, the Elijah Oliver Cabin in Cades Cove, the John Ownby Cabin near Sugarlands Visitor Center, and replaced the Cable Mill flume in Cades Cove. The crew also performs routine maintenance on the park’s 126 historic structures to prevent them from falling into the level of disrepair that requires large rehab projects.
Soehn expressed appreciation for The Boyd Foundation and everyone who has donated to Friends of the Smokies in recent years to support Forever Places.
“We are beyond grateful to the Boyd family for helping us reach a significant milestone with the Forever Places program,” Soehn said. “It means we can confidently say the park will have the funds to ensure future generations can walk in the footsteps of history at the most-visited national park in the country.”
While the Forever Places endowment is complete, this does not end our annual fundraising for the Forever Places program. The endowment ensures funding for the salaries of the crew members, which is only a portion of the overall cost of preserving historic structures. Your license plates and annual donations will still make a meaningful difference to provide the crew with needed supplies, architectural plans, and internships to carry out the mission of the Forever Places program.
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Forever Places Crew Video
The video below from our YouTube channel shows several examples of before-and-after footage of historic locations in the park preserved in 2025 and late-2024 by the Forever Places crew.
More Forever Places Before-and-After Results
Below are more photos of the remarkable work by the Forever Places crew to preserve historic structures in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
About Friends of the Smokies
Friends of the Smokies is the official nonprofit partner of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Through private donations, fundraising events, and specialty license plates in North Carolina and Tennessee, Friends raises money to fund needed projects and programs in the national park that would otherwise go unfunded.
Since 1993, Friends of the Smokies has raised more than $100 million to preserve and protect Great Smoky Mountains National Park. That includes the Forever Places endowment devoted to funding a full-time skilled crew devoted to the care of more than 300 historic structures in the Smokies. For more information, visit smokiesforeverplaces.org.
Learn more about how to get a Friends of the Smokies license plate at BearPlate.org. You can make a direct tax-deductible donation at our website. We are also grateful for those who pitch in at our donation boxes throughout the park. Every gift makes a significant difference for our beloved Smokies. Thank you, Friends!
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