Johnathan Winsauer, winner of the Gas-Powered Trimmer, with Danny Bullington, the director of the Knox Co. 4-H Program, Rhonda Luebke and Chris Albrecht from West Knox Optimist Club

Lawnmower Safety Clinic

The Optimist Club of West Knoxville’s Lawnmower Safety Clinic is for boys and girls in the 5th, 6^th, 7^th and 8^th grades. The clinic is free and covers subjects such as lawnmower and trimmer safety, basic lawnmower maintenance, mowing techniques for different types of terrain and grasses. Also covered are some basics for the potential entrepreneur: how to get and keep lawn mowing jobs.

To keep the excitement levels up, there is a door prize that all participants register to win. The first year, the door prize was a year-old, reconditioned recycling/mulching Toro mower provided by Knox County Solid Waste (part of Knox Co. Cooperative Extension Service). In subsequent years, the door prize has been a brand-new gas powered trimmer. The clinic ends promptly at noon with the presentation of a Certificate of Completion for each kid as well as drawing for the door prize. We also give each participant a pair of safety glasses and earplugs. Lunch (hot dogs, chips & soft drink) is then provided by the Optimist Club for the kids, their parents and the faculty.

The reason the 5th - 8^th grade kids are targeted is simply size & maturity. Kids much younger than those in this group are often too small to be safely operating a lawnmower. An adult (and that adult is usually a parent) is required to attend the clinic with the child. We feel this is important because both will be receiving the same information. We want to avoid the scenario of a kid going home and trying to put his/her new skills to use only to be told that's not the way we do it. Most parents attending the clinic freely admit that they learned a few things too. 

The clinic is by no means conducted by the Optimist Club alone. We have created a partnership with Knox County 4-H, University of Tennessee Cooperative Extension Service, Knox County Solid Waste, the Town of Farragut, Rural Metro and Farragut Lawn & Tractor. Each entity brings its own expertise to share with the kids.

The concept of a lawnmower safety clinic was presented to the Optimist Club of West Knoxville by one of its members who had been active in an Optimist Club in Manhattan, Kansas. The Manhattan club has conducted a similar clinic for many years. The concept of partnering with the county 4-H and Cooperative Extension Service was borrowed from them.

The Optimist Club of West Knoxville has offered our Lawnmower Safety Clinic each year since 1999. It was originally held at Concord Park in West Knox County, and in 2001 moved to Mayor Bob Leonard Park in the Town of Farragut. The Town of Farragut has become a very valuable partner, providing use of the park, erecting a large tent that provides shelter in case of rain, and use of a gas grill for preparing lunch for the participants. The town also helps tremendously with publicity for the clinic.

Farragut Lawn & Tractor has become a partner for the past two years. They have provided one of their staff to help teach the clinic and they have the gas-powered trimmer that goes to the winner of the drawing for the door prize.

Rural Metro sends a fire truck staffed by EMTs. The EMTs discuss what kinds of mower related injuries they see and how they need to be treated. Some very basic first-aid is discussed. They then show the kids the equipment on the truck. This year, Rural Metro also sent an ambulance.

One of the best eye-openers for the kids is the shoe-on-a-stick demonstration, where a canvas tennis shoe has had a 2x2 fastened to it in such a manner that the shoe can be inserted under a running lawnmower. The result is fast and impressive. The kids get a very visual idea of what can happen when their foot slips under the mower. Each year when the kids see the shredded shoe, their reactions are the same. We like to think it is a lesson they will remember.

All of the teaching is done by representatives from 4-H, Cooperative Extension Service, Rural Metro, and Farragut Lawn & Tractor.