LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — You could see the look in Mayor Sloan Stewart’s eye as he addressed the Metro Council in April to discuss the status of The Lynchburg Pool. The 25 year old pump went kaput. Parts were impossible to find making repair difficult. Replacement meant an unanticipated $5,000 to $15,000 budget line item.

Money’s tight heading into budget season, but neither Mayor Stewart nor the Council seemed prepared to disappoint local kiddos by cancelling one of the most anticipated days each summer, the opening of The Lynchburg Pool. So, they approved the repair and fiscally hoped for the best.

{To read our full coverage of that vote, click here.}

And then the next day, the most amazing thing happened. Enter Atmos Energy’s Matt Ferguson.

That next day, Ferguson, Operations Supervisor for Atmos Energy, picked up the phone and called Mayor Stewart — not because his company told him to, but because he wanted to.

Ferguson, who grew up in Hickman County, knows small towns. He knows what a community pool means when summer heat settles into Middle Tennessee and families are looking for somewhere to go together. He knew it the moment he watched the council discussion unfold.

“My takeaway was that the community was willing to exhaust all efforts to make sure that the families and children would have the community pool pump fixed,” Ferguson said.

So he did something about it. Atmos Energy will donate $10,000 toward the pool repair — an amount that lands squarely in the middle of the $5,000 to $15,000 estimated repair range and could cover the bulk of the cost entirely.

Mayor Stewart, who has been scrambling since April to source parts for a 25-year-old pump, was caught off guard by the call in the best possible way.

“You could tell he was so appreciative,” Ferguson recalled. “Just very, very thankful.”

Ferguson says the donation aligns with Atmos Energy’s broader mission of fueling safe and thriving communities — with a focus on neighbors, kids, and heroes. Atmos serves more than 300 customers in Lynchburg and has been an active community partner for years, coordinating winter preparedness outreach, promoting safe digging practices, and hosting safety lunches for local first responders.

But this one was personal.

“I grew up in a small town similar to Lynchburg,” Ferguson said. “I understand how important it is to have places like the community pool for kids and families to come together — especially with summer months soon approaching.”

For Atmos Energy, Ferguson put it simply: “We are your family member, your neighbor, your friend.”

The Lynchburg Pool is expected to open this summer — though the date depends on how quickly they can get a pump working. We’ll update you once there’s a clear opening date. •

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