Isn’t free money to support man’s best friend a good thing? What if the money is coming from a gubernatorial candidate just before the election?
Republican candidate Randy Boyd’s foundation is handing out cash.
The Randy Boyd Foundation presented the city of Jackson with the grand prize check of $100,000 for the Tennessee Dog Park Dash, WBBJ reported Friday.
The grant requires the park to be built by 2020.
“I anticipate it being done much earlier,” said Mandy White with the Jackson Chamber.
A total of 37 communities across the state will receive $1 million to build or enhance off-leash dog parks, the Crossville Chronicle reported. Jackson received the largest prize — the other locales were paid $25,000 each.
The winning communities for the 2018 Tennessee Dog Park Dash grant are:
• West Tennessee: Bolivar, Brownsville, Camden, Decatur County, Dyersburg, Henderson,
Humboldt, Lakeland, McKenzie, Memphis, Milan and Pickwick.
• Middle Tennessee: Gallatin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg, Manchester, McMinnville, Mount
Pleasant, Murfreesboro, Spring Hill and White House.
• East Tennessee: Athens, Bristol, Chattanooga, Cleveland, Crossville, Erwin, Greeneville,
Jonesborough, Kingsport, Kingston, Morristown, Rogersville, Spring City, Union County, and Jefferson County.
●Grand Prize winner: Jackson.
Randy and Jenny Boyd, of course, “will visit and meet with civic leaders of the winning communities throughout the summer of 2018,” according to the Chronicle.
Boyd’s campaign has been touting his grants. His website linked to a November 2017 story by The Dyersburg State Gazette on a $10,000 gift for a local park.
Boyd founded and owns Radio Systems Corp., a manufacturer of pet products.
A self-made man, Boyd’s net worth has been estimated at in excess of $500 million.
Boyd and his wife Jenny have been very generous in their donations to charity, which sources tell The Tennessee Star has been well over $10 million.
One such charitable contribution, however, has generated a great deal of negative press for Boyd during his campaign for governor.
In 2016, Boyd and his wife Jenny donated $250,000 to Conexion Americas, a Nashville non-profit affiliated with the national left wing group formerly known as La Raza. Renata Soto, the founder and executive director of Conexion Americas, also served as the national chairman of the group formerly known as La Raza.
Boyd, Williamson County businessman Bill Lee, and Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) are running neck-and-neck for the Republican gubernatorial nomination that will be decided this Thursday, August 2, in the state wide primary election. Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville) is the fourth candidate in the race.
This just proves that Mr. Boyd has truly gone to the dogs. And I apologize to the dogs.
$100K for dog parks? Talk about having your priorities out of whack! I LOVE my dog but ….how about instead of this nonsense setting up Mentor/Internships in Inner/Rural areas? That $ would have REAL impact–this is silly