St. Mark Early Enrichment Program - Knoxville

KNOXVILLE, TENN - On December 12, 2023, Rio Grande Fence Co. of Knoxville served St. Mark Early Enrichment Program in Knoxville, TN. The preschool's playground received a new commercial ornamental steel fence and gate system at no charge to the preschool through Rio Grande Fence Co.'s annual service project program. "We had to close a big portion of our playground because our old chain link fence was in such bad condition." said Amberley Weir - Assistant Director at St. Mark Early Enrichment Program. The preschool’s playground was closed due to failing local fence codes in Knoxville. As part of Rio Grande Fence Co. of Knoxville's branch office opening, the company announced an opportunity for Knoxville non-profit organizations to apply for a 100% free commercial fence installation. "After reading St. Mark's submission and speaking with Amberley about the state of their playground fence causing it to be closed, we felt compelled to select them for our first service project in Knoxville" said Derek Smith, Chief Operating Officer & 3rd Generation Owner. Rio Grande Fence Co. removed all of the broken chain link fence and replaced it with 5’H Ameristar Montage Plus ornamental steel fence system. The two walk gates were outfitted with Locinox Mammoth-180 self-closing hinges and a D&D Technologies MagnaLatch Top Pull magnetic safety gate latch. "The new fence is going to allow us to open our playground back up and it's going to give us a safe place for our kids to play on every single day" said Weir. A new gate safety device from Locinox, the U-Safe stainless-steel cable. The U-Safe gate safety cable provides additional security to this gate used by the pre-school. Should the gate ever become detached, the U-Safe keeps it from falling down due to the patented Quick-Fix anchor bolts. "We're excited about opening our Knoxville branch office and we thought this was the perfect way to introduce ourselves to the Knoxville community by serving this great community and local non-profit by sharing what we are best at" said Smith.

ABOUT RIO GRANDE FENCE CO. Est. 1958 - Rio Grande Fence Co. of Tennessee exclusively serves businesses, contractors, government agencies, and sports facilities throughout Tennessee with commercial fence and perimeter security solutions. For permanent installations, service repairs, and temporary fence rentals, our team of professionals are prepared to serve with offices in Nashville and Knoxville.

ABOUT ST. MARK EARLY ENRICHMENT PROGRAM The St. Mark Early Enrichment Program (SMEEP) is an important part of the ministry of St. Mark United Methodist Church. SMEEP is a preschool education program committed to the development of the whole child, and provides activities that encourage physical, social, emotional, cognitive and spiritual growth. The program is child-centered, and is based upon sound principles of child development and early childhood education. SMEEP instructors are trained professionals, and include teachers with degrees in early childhood education and experienced caregivers. All teachers participate in continuing education, workshops and conferences which focus on early childhood educational needs.