I could write a story from Keep Athens Beautiful’s 25th Anniversary Celebration Saturday night, but I could never do as well as Darwin Winfield did with his speech … so I’ll let Darwin have the stage one more time … and don’t forget to check out the KAB award winners here. — Michael
Darwin Winfield’s speech at the KAB 25th Anniversary Saturday, May 18 Friday, May 17
Like so many of the things that make this world great, Keep Athens Beautiful started with a great idea and a few really dedicated people.
The result of their vision: a town that is cleaner and prettier where children are taught to recycle and trees are planted every year.
Recently, Carol and Jennifer sat down with the beautiful Margaret Myers, who was an integral part of KAB’s beginning. They also spent time talking to Felecia Cain, the first executive director. They even asked me a few questions. I really had to dig into the upstairs archives to find the answers, but I think I got most of it right.
At this time, I would like to introduce Margaret and Felecia. Will the two of you please stand? Thank you so much for all the work you did to form this organization.
Keep Athens Beautiful started as a committee under the Athens Chamber of Commerce. The committee began taking the first steps toward making a difference in this community by cleaning up litter and developing beautification projects.
But in 1988, Keep Athens Beautiful as we know it today was born. Under the leadership of Margaret and others, Keep Athens Beautiful became part of Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful. Felecia was hired and Keep Athens Beautiful got its first official office.
It is those events that led to the start of this group that we celebrate tonight.
When we talked to Felecia, one of the things she wanted us to remember is that KAB would not have happened without the dedication of that first board. Those board members displayed exceptional dedication to this community, and it is through their dedication that the strong roots of this group were built.
In the early days of KAB, the office was located in the Athens City Hall. That building is now in the Athens Annex Building where the police department and the municipal court are located.
A year after Felecia was hired, the office was moved into the Coleman Building on the northwest corner of the square. That office would be the home of Keep Athens Beautiful for more than 20 years before we moved into the Athens Partnership Center in November 2011. We are so blessed to be a part of the partnership building and if you haven’t seen the office, please come by. Carol loves to give tours.
Some of KAB’s early priorities included the destruction of condemned homes in Athens, the reduction of litter and the building of a recycling program.
What they began still stands today. Keep Athens Beautiful supervises the mowing of several city entrances. We also dedicate much of our time to keeping litter to a much of a minimum as possible. The recycling program was started in 1991 and is still a successful part of our mission. The familiar blue recycling bins can be seen everywhere around Athens.
When we talked to Margaret, she said one of the important benefits of making KAB an independent organization was the Governor’s Community Achievement Award. The GCAA, as it’s affectionately known to us, allows cities that display exceptional dedication to community beautification, to compete for funds every few years in order to complete city projects.
In total, Keep Athens Beautiful has won the GCAA eight times, in 1992, 1995, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012.
The GCAA funds do not go to operating Keep Athens Beautiful, but are grant funds earmarked for beautification projects along TxDOT right of ways. The grant funds provided by the GCAA have helped Keep Athens Beautiful take some gigantic leaps toward beautifying this community.
Projects financed by the GCAA have included the painting of graffiti-laden railroad trestles around town, the planting of crepe myrtles in the areas surrounding downtown, the building of green belts and the beautification of the entrances into Athens. Most recently, the stunning new entrance to the East Texas Arboretum on Highway 175 was completed as a joint project between Keep Athens Beautiful, TxDOT and the arboretum. The GCAA grant funds financed the fencing and plants, while the arboretum has taken over the maintenance of the project to make sure it is beautiful for years to come.
It has been an honor for KAB to win the GCAA almost every time we have been eligible. And we’re not done yet. The newest GCAA project is in the works, and look next year for some changes to the area around the courthouse square.
Even in the years when we are not eligible to win the GCAA, KAB has been declared a Sustained Excellence Community by Keep Texas Beautiful. Margaret was in Austin the first year we earned that distinction, and that level of excellence still stands today. Last year, we were honored for having 20 years of Sustained Excellence.
But even without the GCAA funds, it’s impossible to drive through Athens without seeing the effects of what Keep Athens Beautiful volunteers past and present have accomplished. Today, KAB works to maintain the Railroad Park on Corsicana Street and the park on Highway 19 south near St. Thomas Street. We have also completed beautification projects at Coleman Park and the Cain Center. We’ve also completed many other beautification projects over the years, such as the landscaping of the former Armory building on Prairieville Street.
One of the most visible efforts of Keep Athens Beautiful began 12 years ago through the vision of former board member Barbara Dale. Under her leadership, KAB began the fall decorating of the area around the courthouse. Today, the fall and Christmas decorating of the square are one of KAB’s biggest undertakings and have become a real part of the holiday spirit in the city.
Not nearly as pretty, although every bit as important, is the Operation Clean Sweep Program. Since the 1990s, probationers have been taken around the town once a month to help reduce litter, a program that has been very successful thanks to the support of District Judge Carter Tarrance. In 2002, KAB purchased a truck and trailer with East Texas Council of Governments grant funds. That truck and trailer are still used today.
Another key project of KAB is the twice-annual community cleanups. Those events go a long way toward helping to keep trash off the streets and out of people’s yards. With the support of the City of Athens and Republic Waste Services, literally tons of refuse are gathered each year.
In our schools, students are taught about reducing graffiti through the Graffiti Hurts program, the problems with litter through the Little People’s Litter Party, and the importance of recycling and reforestation during our annual Eco Camp and Earth Day events. Students are given trees to plant every Arbor Day. Teachers are trained regularly in the Waste in Place curriculum. Teaching the future of Athens to take care of the city has been a priority of KAB for decades, and is still a big piece of who were are today.
Over the years, KAB has worked to remember and sustain the directives set for us by that first board. And we’ve had six outstanding directors in place to help us accomplish so much.
After Felecia Cain, Sharon Sanders, Julie Culp (Lowe), Heather Murphy and Sherri Callahan stepped forward to continue the tradition. Our current director, Carol Morton, is in her 10th year in the position.
As we have been researching our history in recent months, we have realized there are so many names we just don’t have time to mention. Whether you have been a board member, a volunteer, a donor, or just a friend, we want to thank you with all our heart for helping to make us an integral part of this community.
So we want to thank you all for coming tonight, for helping us to celebrate a quarter of a century to making Athens a better place, and for your dedication to our cause.
Like any other non-profit organization, we definitely always welcome your support, whether it is of your time or your financial contributions. So if you are interested in helping us continue our work, please let Carol know.