Several Athens residents, local elected officials and loved ones of the late Doug Gates gathered on Friday, for the special dedication program of Athens Farmers Market at Doug Gates Park.
Gates left an indelible mark on the city of Athens and those that knew him before he passed in 2022 — and the large crowd of attendees for the ceremony on Oct. 25 showcased the extensive impact the civic leader had on the community.
“What a fitting recognition this is for him,” Alabama State Senator Arthur Orr, who contributed to the renovations at the Athens Farmers Market, told The News Courier. “To commemorate his legacy and the impact he had on the downtown area of Athens is tremendous. Athens and Limestone County are booming right now, the entire state knows it, and he played a huge role in that.”
Those heartfelt sentiments of Doug Gates were echoed throughout the program, as Gates’ wife, Betsy Gates — and multiple members of his family — hosted the ribbon cutting for the event.
“There are not that many people who can say they are directly responsible for the growth of Athens, but Doug Gates was one of them,” Alabama State Representative Danny Crawford said. “He kept the downtown area active. When you see everything going on in Athens, he was one of the ones who fought for them. Doug was right in the middle of the revitalization of this city.”
The celebratory dedication ceremony also highlighted all of the supporters who brought the finalized Athens Farmers Market to fruition, noting the work and donations from countless community organizations and governments — like the Limestone County Legislative Delegations, Limestone County Commission and the city of Athens.
“Doug (Gates) was one of those pillars of our community, he was always involved in everything going on in Athens,” Commission Chairman Collin Daly said. “It’s an honor to name something after someone who played such a vital role in our area — he left a lasting legacy on this community that won’t be soon forgotten.”
Athens Main Street hosted the program on Friday, marking the completion of their three-phase project that started in 2019. In total the project took more than $800,000 in funds from grants and in-kind donations to complete — and Athens Main Street Executive Director Tere Richardson took the time to thank every single one of the donors at the event.
Richardson began to get choked up as she made her way through the long list of names.
“Looking down at that list of all the organizations, individuals, businesses and public entities that donated their time or money was just a little overwhelming to me,” Richardson said. “There were four-pages of sponsors and when I saw that it all came flooding back to me. I just couldn’t take the normal out, I had to thank everybody who made this project possible, they spent their time, talent and treasure to get this done in honor of Doug Gates.”