Central City Park in Macon, Georgia, has been renamed Carolyn Crayton Park. Carolyn Crayton is the founder of the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission, a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, and the Georgia International Cherry Blossom Festival. In addition to her work in Macon-Bibb County, Crayton continues to be a dedicated board member for Keep America Beautiful.

The park’s renaming was officially approved on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, after the Macon-Bibb commissioners voted 7-1.

“Normally, naming parks after living people is prohibited,” according a recent broadcast on WMAZ in Central Georgia. “However, the commission believed it was worth making an exception for Crayton after her nearly 50 years of service to Macon-Bibb County.”

Crayton said she appreciated the honor. 

“To have that beautiful park named for me is more than I can imagine,” Crayton said in the post.

The park, which was the city’s first public park, is “home to Macon’s historic Luther Williams Field, the heart of Cherry Blossom Festival events, and the original home of the Georgia State Fair,” according to its website.

Keep America Beautiful has a National Award named after Crayton for her work in advancing the organization’s community-based affiliate network. The award annually recognizes an individual board member, company, or organization of a local Keep America Beautiful affiliate for long-standing service to that affiliate.