Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most popular National Park in the United States. People come from all over the eastern half of the country to visit the Smoky Mountains and drive visitation higher than park service icons such as Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon. The key to operating Great Smoky Mountains is not necessarily the visitors who come from other places, the key is connecting to the community.
The importance of connecting a park to the local community is exactly why Cassius Cash is the perfect fit for Park Superintendent. New to his role at Great Smoky Mountains, Cassius brings his concept of Listen – Learn – Build and is intent on connecting to the local community.
Cassius comes to Great Smoky Mountains from Boston, where he served as the Superintendent as Boston National Historic Park and Boston African American National Historic Site. In Boston, Cassius used stories to rebrand the park and built impactful connections in the community. Superintendent Cash also took a deeper look into the historic stories most people know to find additional stories that include more people.
Finding more inclusive stories is a key to building more interest and support in our parks and Cassius Cash is a model of how to put those stories to work. Inclusive stories connect parks to people of different backgrounds, interests, and geographies.
Superintendent Cash understands it does not matter if he is in an urban Boston park or park in the Appalachian mountains, connecting to the community and including everyone is the key to a thriving park.
What a great interview with Mr. Cash. It was great to hear that he loves what he does and is willing to help America understand the great resources we have at our national parks. Hats off to Mr.Cash and his family for their service to our nation.
Thank you, James. It was a pleasure to interview Mr. Cash. I am glad you enjoyed it.