LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Wednesday, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders was joined by Secretary Shea Lewis, Secretary Renee Mallory, and the Director of Office of Outdoor Recreation, Katherine Andrews in presenting $500,000 in Outdoor Recreation Grants for projects in seven counties across Arkansas.
The Sanders Administration has once again revived the Great Strides program after it was stopped in 2017.
The revival of the program fulfills one of the recommendations of the Natural State Initiative, and funding for the grant program was acquired from Arkansas's Tobacco Settlement Fund.
"Great Strides is back and better than ever. I know that when deciding which applications to accept, the grant writing committee had a special focus: smaller Arkansas communities without robust access to outdoor recreation. What these projects lack in size they make up for in impact. This program goes a long way toward making sure that every corner of Arkansas – not just a few big cities – is a great place to live and raise a family,” said Governor Sanders.
The following locations are set to be the recipients of the 2024 Great Strides grant:
- Emerson, $93,735, Purple Hull Pea Park
- Humnoke, $43,942, City of Humnoke Park Trail
- Brinkley, $66,340, Brinkley City Park
- Alexander, $96,990, Alexander City Park
- Lewisville, $99,857, Lewisville City Park
- Sevier County, $8330.08, DeQueen Lake Trail
- Tyronza, $78,424, Tyronza Park
The Office of Outdoor Recreation received 21 grant applications from about 15 counties across the state. The funds requested totaled about $1,611,270.28 for fiscal year 2024, and the funding to be disbursed will total $500,000.
In May, seven projects were chosen to receive the grant money equaling to about $491,118.08. These communities will use the money to create health and fitness trails that will encourage physical activity for people in the area.
