Nancy VanReece

Strategist | Way Maker | Artist

Madison, TN

IT STARTS WITH A PROMISE - AND ALWAYS HAS A STORY

FROM THE GRASSROOTS UP

OAKWOOD PARK. IT'S ABOUT RESPECT

April 15, 2019  /  Hon. Nancy VanReece

OAKWOOD PARK 2019

Remarks by Councilmember Nancy VanReece from the Oakwood Park Ribbon Cutting, April 13, 2019

Many of you here today have grown up with Oakwood Park, but I didn’t learn about it until the summer of 2011.

I learned that the district that I planned to represent, contained a hilly, 26-acre park with what’s perhaps the city’s most majestic view of downtown Nashville.

Unfortunately, its reputation didn’t end there. My research into Oakwood turned up a review from the Nashville Scene, which contained this memorable description: “We all stood in the Oakwood playground, looking up into the wooded area, and were convinced we were seeing possibly the most unsafe park in Nashville — two paltry swings, a strange elevated pyramid, and a crumbling basketball court, with plenty of places for you to be out of sight if you fell and therefore plenty of places for bad folks to be unseen.”

When I was elected in 2015, I was determined to work with all of you to change that reputation and make Oakwood Park the gem it could be. 

As I began meeting with the neighbors about park improvements. It was clear, after four community meetings, that the original idea to enhance access to the top of the hill and a possible dog park, would need to be in Phase 2.  Phase 1, which we celebrate the completion of today is built for people, for families.

I want to thank the mountain bikers from SORBA of Middle TN whose diligence to preserve trails may have actually saved this park from extinction.  A primitive trail was blazed on the eastern slope to the top of the hill where it ties to one of those existing trails that wraps back down on the west creating a one mile loop for bikers, pedestrians, and yes, dogs (on a leash).

The basketball courts have always been used and they will continue to be.  I want to thank the newly formed Friends of Oakwood Park whose first project will be to continue enhancements to the basketball courts.

We kept the park layout so that you who live here can simply walk over from your homes and start enjoying it, which is what I’m sure all of you will do.  But this work isn’t just helping those of you who live here. The construction agreement for this city project went to a local, minority-owned business.   I want to acknowledge and thank Janet Shands and Pearl Sims from Mutual Contractors for making this park a true destination. In particular, thank you for your work with Tim Netsch and Mark Bradfield of Nashville Parks to save what may be one of the most beautiful collections of natural hardwood forest in the urban core.

But, this work is not just about green space, this is about respect.  The Shephardwood communities surrounding this park have been as forgotten as the park.  It has been my pleasure to  influence  public investment in this place called home.  Now the children that live on Bethwood can walk safely through the park to catch the school bus on Oakwood.  The WeGo bus stop on Oakwood can bring friends to play basketball with after school.

You may have noticed the new, large development in neighboring District 5 bringing hundreds of new families workforce and affordable housing that will also have this amazing park to enjoy.  This balance of mixed income housing is imperative as we work to slow gentrification every time we make an investment for the people that already live here.

The city and I plan to keep improving Oakwood Park in future years. And who knows? Maybe someday we will see that Phase 2 funded to enhance the access to the top of this beautiful protected landscape.

I am overwhelmed by what we have all built together here.

Let’s take care of it,

Let’s use it, 

Let’s respect it, 

Let’s claim Oakwood Park as part of our beautiful city,  at last.

Photos: Chad McClarnon

featured: Councilmember Nancy VanReece, Mayor David Briley, Nashville Metro Parks Director, Monique Odom, Commander Imoff, East Nashville Police Precinct, Shephardwood Neighbors and Friends of Oakwood Park.

OAKWOOD PARK 2015

Comment
“As a newly formed, public-facing enterprise, our organization benefited from Nancy’s deep understanding and valuable experience in Public Affairs. She established community relationships — public and private, near and far — that will prove critical to our company’s success.
She is a positive and dynamic contributor.
Nancy defined the important role of Vice President of Public Affairs and Business Development beyond the scope of our expectations and executed the complex nature of this dual role seamlessly and with utmost professionalism.”
— Fred Kennedy, Harken Hall
“What can Nancy NOT do? Seriously - she approaches any role, job, task, or initiative with integrity, authenticity, and passion. She’s not afraid of the hard work needed to get the job done and is quick to look for wins for all parties. She also shows up with her community. Nancy is not merely well connected; she’s deeply connected and brings that network to any opportunity that has a chance to make the world better. ”
— Sam Davidson, Co-Founder Batch USA, LLC
“I worked with Nancy for 4 years and I can attest that she is a life-long learner, leader, and relationship builder. Nancy has never met a stranger. I’ve probably sat in over 100 meetings with her and she’s always found something to connect with the person across the table- “a virtual connector of dots.” That takes both empathy and emotional intelligence. Nancy is thoughtful in her approach to everything she does which makes her excellent at business development. She is able to think strategically at ten-thousand feet while being detailed oriented in the execution of tasks. Ideas are nothing without execution and Nancy balances those effortlessly. Having Nancy is your corner is nothing short of incredible.”
— RYAN CARTER, FOUNDER/CEO PARCHUTE MEDIA, LLC
“Nancy did a spectacular job rebuilding MDSave’s social media presence. One heck of a turnaround job. She was creative, reliable and has a solid work ethic. She came to the table with fresh ideas, was always on time and always kept a great sense of humor.”
— Chad Blackburn Vice President Business Development MDSave,Inc.

"I came to Nancy because I wanted to build my brand through blogging/social media and had zero knowledge about how to do it. She was the perfect person for the job. Her blend of social media expertise and calm, positive demeanor was exactly what I needed. 

Consultant/coach/patient trainer, she helped me create a path to launching my blog and gave me skills along the way. She made me feel like what I wanted to achieve was possible, and then got me there. There is lots left to do, but I feel confident that we will partner to achieve the long term results I'm hoping for."

- Lisa Pote, Consultant

“Nancy VanReece is the real thing. She knows how to build an effective social media brand/platform. Even better, she makes this complex, arcane world accessible (and dare I say FUN) for her clients. She stands on the valuable ground where social media, branding and marketing intersect. I’m incredibly relieved to have her on my team!”
— Amy Lynch, Generational Edge
“What can be said about Nancy VanReece that you may not already know? There is a general consensus (and a look at her LinkedIn recommendations confirms this) regarding her wide-ranging talent for just about everything at which she tries her hand. As communications director at the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation (GBBF), I was responsible for helping to coordinate a statewide summit featuring thought leaders and communications experts in the non-profit arena. During the planning phase for the event, when charged with finding a presenter for the topic of social media engagement, I knew immediately that Nancy was the best possible choice. Nancy is on the cutting edge when it comes to helping organizations create comprehensive social media engagement strategies. Her presentation at the Tennessee Executive Residence was eloquent, sleek, articulate and – most significantly – effective. Our attendees left the summit invigorated with a real sense of how to implement Nancy’s ideas and reach more of their constituents in the ever-evolving ecosystem of social media platforms. I cannot recommend her highly enough, and I hope to work with her often in the future.”
— Kirk Graves, Communications Director, Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation
“Nancy has completely transformed our social media program, creating a viable and robust presence for us across a variety of platforms, from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to Google+ and Pinterest. She has played a critical role in upgrading and maintaining our website, and she piloted the launch of the Nashville Symphony’s mobile app, which today has been downloaded more than 5,000 times.

Nancy’s commitment to the job has been beyond compare, as she has spent countless evenings tethered to her iPad, monitoring and responding to the outpouring of feedback we receive through our social networks. Day in and day out, she has created, organized and posted dynamic content that represents the full breadth of who we are and what we do here at the Nashville Symphony — our concerts, our musicians, our education programs, you name it. We are a better institution for all of the incredible work that she has done, and she’ll be greatly missed.

In her own words: “I have enjoyed my nearly two years with the organization. Over 16,000 tweets and 2,200 Facebook posts later — totaling 204 million impressions — we have grown a great community on 11 platforms having 500+ conversations a week. I look forward to working with new clients as effectively!””
— Sr. Director of Marketing|Communications, Nashville Symphony
“Nancy put together a intensive 2 day workshop for Engage Kingsport and Kingsport Cultural Arts. The workshops gave individual artists the confidence and tools they need to enter the Social Media world as well as helped regional arts organizations refine and enhance their current social media strategies.”
— Bonnie Macdonald, Director, City of Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts
“Nancy was fun and informative. As the Luncheon Keynote Speaker for the Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare, Nancy provided great insight to a representation of over 20 different social service agencies. Her presentation spoke to each agency and everyone left with a more forward thinking mindset of social media and how it can be most effective and beneficial in telling their agency’s story! We loved Nancy!”
— LaTamera Woodley, LAPSW