STAMFORD, Conn. (Feb. 19, 2020) – More than 80 community organizations and individuals, including leaders from the Keep America Beautiful® community-based affiliate network and other partner organizations, were recognized at the Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Awards Ceremony, which took place during the recent Keep America Beautiful National Conference in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Keep America Beautiful National Awards celebrate the work of its more than 600 community-based affiliates, millions of volunteers and participants, and corporate and community partners for their commitment and passion to end littering, improve recycling, and beautify America’s communities.
“It is always an honor to celebrate our National Award winners and their dedication to improving the quality of life in the communities they serve,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Helen Lowman. “Our national network of community-based affiliates, partners, and so many volunteers serve as influential and inspiring leaders in our national movement to transform our public spaces into beautiful places.”
Among the individuals recognized with Keep America Beautiful’s highest honors were:
Beverly Knight Olson is the recipient of the Lady Bird Johnson Award, named after the former first lady for engaging our nation in recognizing that aesthetic beauty is directly related to a better quality of life. As a commissioner of Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission (KMBBC) in Macon, Georgia, Knight Olson currently serves on two of its committees—Litter Prevention, which she chairs, and Education. Her work with KMBBC includes planning initiatives and pursuing grants for the beautification and recycling projects, including the hands-on work of community cleanups and of teaching environmental awareness in the schools. Many of those projects have fostered the revitalization of Macon’s Urban Core, promoting community use and maintenance of parks and greenspaces, as well as funding numerous innovative projects to beautify public spaces and to make the downtown areas safer and more accessible. Knight Olson also works every year to help sell trees in support of Macon’s International Cherry Blossom Festival as a fundraiser for KMBBC.
Stanley Kroh, of Tampa Bay, Florida, received the Iron Eyes Cody Award, which was created in honor of Keep America Beautiful’s landmark public awareness campaign of the 1970s. Kroh has volunteered with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful (KTBB) for 25 years, currently serving as President of the Board of Trustees. He started out as a volunteer for the Hillsborough River Cleanup as part of the Environmental Committee and has since overseen the removal of 12.5 tons of litter from local shorelines, parks, rights-of-way, and has removed over 120,000 pounds of invasive plant species. Kroh was instrumental in launching KTBB’s Trash Free Waters Day Program, which has removed over 780,000 pounds of litter from local waterways since its inception in 2012. Professionally, Kroh has been employed at Tampa Electric Company for 20 years, where he serves as Manager of Land and Stewardship Programs.
Alan “Brad” Lindner, president and C.E.O. of United Dairy Farmers (UDF) in Cincinnati, Ohio, is the recipient of the Carolyn Crayton Award, which was created in honor of the longtime Keep America Beautiful board member who is credited with advancing Keep America Beautiful’s community-based affiliate network, having started the Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful Commission in Macon, Georgia, in 1974. The Lindner family, and UDF, has been an important part of Keep Cincinnati Beautiful (KCB) for nearly its entire 40-year history. In 1980, UDF became KCB’s first corporate partner in Cincinnati’s Great American Cleanup. Now, 40 years later, UDF remains one of KCB’s most valuable corporate partners, as the primary sponsor of Cincinnati’s Neighborhood Enhancement Program, which tackles litter, blight, and enhances neighborhoods twice per year. Lindner has served as KCB Board President for the past 15 years.
Keep America Beautiful also presented its annual Young Professional Award to husband and wife volunteers Max and Liz Schaefer of Lorain, Ohio. The Sue Smith Professional Leadership Award, named in honor of Keep America Beautiful’s former director of education, was given to Missy Marshall, executive director of Keep Tennessee Beautiful, and Lynne Hart, who will be retiring from her position as director of Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful in Athens, Alabama.
For a complete list of Keep America Beautiful National Awards recipients, click here.
About Keep America Beautiful
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.