Virginia Resident Receives Keep America Beautiful's Professional Leadership Award

Carol Doss Takes Top Honor at National Awards Ceremony

WASHINGTON – (Dec. 7, 2009) – Carol Doss of Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful was honored Thursday at this year's annual Keep America Beautiful National Conference with the Professional Leadership Award.

The Professional Leadership Award is Keep America Beautiful’s highest professional honor and is given annually to Keep America Beautiful affiliate directors who have built and sustained a local or state program with outstanding success. Through their contributions to the national network of affiliates, those honored have furthered the goals of Keep America Beautiful by developing training initiatives, establishing model programs, and fostering long-term partnerships between the public and private sectors.

"Keep America Beautiful is proud to honor Carol’s leadership and dedication to improving the environment while enhancing her community," said Matthew McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. "Carol is an invaluable asset to this organization and we are lucky to have someone who is always willing to go above and beyond the call of duty."

Doss started with Keep Wise County Beautiful, where she served as a coordinator for 16 years. In that role she was a high performer with award-winning programs. In 2002 Doss joined the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable representing nine counties and two cities in Southwest Virginia. Through Doss’ leadership, the Roundtable engaged countless citizens through programming, outreach and education. In just a few years the organization has conducted nine Rain Barrel Workshops and built 168 rain barrels and nine new rain gardens.

In 2009 the Roundtable formed Keep Southwest Virginia Beautiful. The affiliate went on to win state and national awards for its litter prevention work in its first year. Doss has led numerous efforts to support litter prevention, recycling, beautification and environmental education throughout Virginia.

"Carol has been a tremendous asset to Southwest Virginia and is always willing to share her wealth of knowledge and experience with those of us still learning the ropes," said Gloria Puffinburger, former president of the Virginia Council for Litter Prevention and Recycling.

Doss also served as an officer and representative for her region to the Virginia Council for Litter Prevention and Recycling. More recently, she was appointed to the board of directors for Keep Virginia Beautiful, Inc., which is one of Keep America Beautiful’s oldest affiliates.

For a complete list of all Keep America Beautiful 2009 award winners from the 56th National Conference and additional information about the 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 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community's environment. To learn more about Keep America Beautiful, go to www.kab.org.

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