Keep America Beautiful Presents 21 First-Place National Awards to Affiliates with Exceptional Programs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Robert Wallace/Larry Kaufman
203.323.8987, Ext. 811/817
Email: rwallace@kab.org, lkaufman@kab.org
Web site: www.kab.org

STAMFORD, Conn. (Dec. 10, 2007) Keep America Beautiful, Inc. President G. Raymond Empson presented 21 first-place awards today at the 2007 Keep America Beautiful National Awards ceremony during Keep America Beautiful’s 54th Annual National Conference in Washington, D.C.

The Keep America Beautiful National Awards program was established to recognize and support outstanding Keep America Beautiful affiliates and participating organizations for successful programs that educate the public about litter prevention and “reduce, reuse, recycle” initiatives, and that organize local volunteer efforts to clean up, beautify and improve local community environments. Six first-place awards were presented to Keep America Beautiful affiliates that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in their communities. In addition, National Awards were presented in the categories of Litter Prevention, Beautification and Community Improvement, and Waste Reduction.

“Keep America Beautiful’s National Award winners represent the wide scope of accomplishments and many of the best practices among our national Network of Affiliates and participating organizations,” said Empson. “These award-winning programs serve as wonderful examples of how business, government and grassroots organzations can work together to accomplish great things.”

The Keep America Beautiful first-place National Award winners are:

Affiliate Awards Category

• Keep Cobb Beautiful, Ga.
• Keep Austin Beautiful, Texas
• KAB Topeka/Shawnee County, Kan.
• Montgomery Clean City Commission, Ala.
• Keep Lake Jackson Beautiful, Texas
• Keep Corinth Beautiful, Miss.

Beautification and Community Improvement Category

• Business and Professional Organizations Mississippi Power Co., Gulfport, Miss.
• Government Agency Hampton Clean City Commission, Hampton, Va.
• Nonprofit, Civic and Community Organizations Community Work Day Program, Maui, Hawaii
• Youth Groups/Schools Travis Elementary, Grand Prairie, Texas
• PTK Service Chapter Beta Zeta Upsilon, Norfolk, Va.

Litter Prevention Category

• Business and Professional Organizations KAB Topeka/Shawnee County (AM 1440), Topeka, Kan.
• Government Agency KAB of Anderson County, Anderson, S.C.
• Nonprofit, Civic and Community Organizations Keep McAllen Beautiful, McAllen, Texas
• Youth Groups/Schools Daniels Elementary, Grand Prairie, Texas
• PTK Service Chapter Phi Theta Kappa, Raymond, Miss.

Waste Reduction

• Business and Professional Organizations National Starch Food Innovation, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Government Agency Navy Whidbey Recycle, Oak Harbor, Wash.
• Nonprofit, Civic and Community Organizations Keep Knoxville Beautiful, Knoxville, Tenn.
• Youth Groups/Schools KAB Topeka/Shawnee Co. Washburn Rural HS, Topeka, Kan.
• PTK Service Chapter Pi Omega, Danville, Ill.

In addition to these 21 first-place award-winners, Keep America Beautiful is also recognizing more than 100 other outstanding organizations and individuals for their achievements in promoting litter prevention, recycling, beautification and community improvement, and environmental stewardship at its National Awards ceremony.

For a complete listing of all Keep America Beautiful 2007 National Award winners in all categories, as well as information about its awards program, please visit Keep America Beautiful’s Web site at www.kab.org.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.
Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliates and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit www.kab.org.

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