The Appalachian Wildlife Foundation (AWF) announced that it has received another substantial funding contribution toward its Appalachian Wildlife Center project in August.

Brook Smith of Louisville had made a significant donation to the project in June and more than doubled that with a six-figure contribution in early August. Smith is the founder of the Appalachian Impact Fund based in Hazard.

“Brook is a man of vision and has enthusiastically embraced our plans for the Wildlife Center. After we gave him a tour of the site, he immediately offered to step up and help as much as he could. He has some amazing ideas for other projects in Southeast Kentucky that will be enormously impactful. I look forward to working together with him,” stated AWF Chairman Frank Allen.

“We first met Brook in May, and he and his wife Pam have already become our third largest personal supporters of the Wildlife Center project. Brook is clearly a man of action. Like us, he has big ideas for the region and I hope to be working with him for a long time to come,” commented AWF CEO David Ledford.

Brook Smith stated, “Sometimes great thought is required when funding an organization. Rarely is it an obvious decision as is the case in providing financial support of the Appalachian Wildlife Center. The tireless effort that Frank and David have expended to create this wonderful opportunity for Kentucky and the region will be recognized and appreciated for years to come.”

Construction on the visitor center building at The Appalachian Wildlife Center is expected to begin in late October, and the project is on track to open to the public in the summer of 2020. It is projected to attract over 850,000 visitors a year from at least 48 states and will generate over 2,800 new jobs in the region.