ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARDS

Carolyn Crayton Volunteer of the Year

Named in honor of Georgia’s first affiliate leader, and someone who galvanized thousands of volunteers throughout her own career, this recognizes a passionate individual who has dedicated an extraordinary amount of time and effort to improving the local environment.

Vered has served on the Keep Pickens Beautiful board for over 15 years, serving as president for the past three. In her time with the organization, she’s initiated and grown Edible Pickens, a program that creates foodscaped and pollinator gardens throughout the county. She’s dedicated countless hours to increasing KPB’s visibility, from redesigning the website to improving its Adopt-a-Road program to partnering with the local recycling center, library, and arts alliance. Vered’s spirit of collaboration, along with her creativity, drive and vision, make her a one-of-a-kind environmental champion.

Barbara Mason Executive Director of the Year

Named in honor of the founder of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, this recognizes an affiliate leader with a profound commitment to making our state cleaner, greener, and more beautiful. This person inspires others, implements innovative programming, and has an established record of creating lasting, positive change.

Since stepping into a leadership role with Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful, Asha has developed strong partnerships with the local school district, neighborhood watch programs, local colleges and universities, fraternities and sororities, and other organizations. One of her major projects has been to beautify the Martin Luther King corridor known as Greenwood Bottom. Asha has worked with local small businesses, churches, and other community organizations to host cleanups and the planting of 30 trees in the area. Asha is very hands on and does not have a problem with rolling up her sleeves and working side by side with volunteers.

Lynn Cobb Student of the Year

Named in honor of a former executive director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation and a true champion of environmental education, this celebrates the achievements of an environmental steward between sixth and twelfth grade.

Braden is a junior at Adairsville High School, and works tirelessly to improve his community. As founder of his school’s environmental club, he’s organized campus cleanups, increased access to recycling, and started composting and gardening initiatives. He has over 160 volunteer hours with Keep Bartow Beautiful, where one of his major projects involved restoring native plant species to Lake Allatoona. He also serves as an Ocean Guardian Youth Ambassador for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and has won Most Outstanding Magnet Environmental Scientist two years in a row. Braden continuously strives to foster sustainability, increasing vegetation in downtown Adairsville through a botany internship and forging partnerships with feeder elementary and middle schools to extend environmental and STEM education to younger grades. We can’t wait to see what he does next!

Steve Reynolds Public Servant of the Year

Named in honor of a former state senator who was instrumental in establishing the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation network, this recognizes an elected official, law enforcement officer, code officer, or other government employee who has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to improving the environment.

Since being elected to serve District 4 in Cobb County, Commisioner Sheffield has championed green initiatives. She’s led an annual districtwide cleanup, working alongside volunteers to collect 895 pounds of litter, debris, and bulk items in 2023. Her district has the lowest litter index score in the county, and the Adopt-a-Mile program has increased 35% under her leadership. She’s an avid recycler and helped to secure funding to renovate the Cobb County Recycling Drop-Off Center, which now accepts gently used clothing and hard-to-recycle plastics in addition to traditional items. She’s also partnered with the Trust for Public Land on beautication initiatives. Commissioner Sheffield can always be trusted to provide the highest level of support for the community, her constituents, and Keep Cobb Beautiful.

Trailblazer of Tomorrow

Our only category honoring two separate recipients (one for a KGBF affiliate with a population of 100,001 or higher, and one with a population of up to 100,000), this celebrates members of our network who use a creative approach when solving challenges, launching projects, or building new programs.

Keep Forsyth County Beautiful is being recognized for “Changes on the Chattahoochee”, a student-led, multi-state community science project that explores the impacts of non-point source pollution. Under Keep Forsyth County Beautiful’s leadership, students from four counties in Georgia and Florida tested dissolved oxygen levels and pH, recorded air and water temperature, made observational notes, and trolled the river for microplastics using ‘baby-legs’, a home-made contraption used to collect contaminants from the water. The project combined place-based learning with citizen science in a real and tangible way, and each student came away with a greater understanding of the concept that we are all connected by water and have individual responsibilities to preserve and protect this natural resource.

Trailblazer of Tomorrow

Our only category honoring two separate recipients (one for a KGBF affiliate with a population of 100,001 or higher, and one with a population of up to 100,000), this celebrates members of our network who use a creative approach when solving challenges, launching projects, or building new programs.

Keep Liberty Beautiful is being recognized for its Sky to the Ground project, which replenished trees and plants lost to storms and county growth. After conducting surveys to identify areas in need, KLB worked with 40 community partners, including schools, businesses, libraries, churches, youth organizations, and local government to plant over 3,000 flower and vegetable seeds; 1,000 plants; and 2,500 trees. They also incorporated a five-year plan to track and maintain their project, and worked with Georgia Coastal Management to conduct rain barrel workshops. As a result of these efforts, county residents will enjoy cleaner air, cooler temperatures, and beautiful green spaces. Many will also enjoy the literal fruits of their labor, as this project established several community gardens.

Community Catalyst

This highlights the efforts of a group or individual to foster outstanding collaborative leadership between neighbors, local businesses, and community organizations with the purpose of collectively improving the local environment.

Friends of Mableton, a nonprofit civic group, aims to make its community cleaner, greener, and more beautiful by conducting weekend cleanups. They’ve directly removed 268 bags of litter from roads they’ve adopted, and reported over 100 instances of illegal dumping through Cobb County’s SeeClickFix app. They’ve also assisted other groups in collecting over 1,072 bags of trash and debris. You can see them in yellow vests almost every Saturday, equipped with extra supplies for anyone who wants to join. In fact, one of their most valued accomplishments is encouraging churches, businesses, and other civic organizations to participate in Keep Cobb Beautiful’s Adopt-a-Mile program.

Clean Community Champion

This honors the efforts of a group that strives to change the attitudes and behaviors toward litter in its community, through cleanups, educational workshops, promotional campaigns, or other preventative measures.

KIDS CARE, a nonprofit created by Jaida Burke and her mother Amie, has engaged over 100 volunteers since 2019. First dreamed up when Jaida was only eight years old and attended by several friends, cleanup groups now include 20-30 people of all ages. After each event, participants gather to eat and discuss the litter they found, how it might have got there, and the ways in which it impacts the environment. They also learn about topics ranging from the decomposition rates of litter to responsible consumerism. KIDS CARE also engages the public on social media, sharing videos and stewardship updates. They’ve made a lasting impact by influencing generations to come!

Greenspace Guardian

This commends a group who has added vibrancy and resiliency to the local landscape through native plantings, pollinator habitats, urban forests, or placemaking.

Keep Bartow Beautiful, the City of Adairsville, and Bartow County Master Gardeners worked together over several years to create the Hayes Park Rain Garden, which mediates stormwater, includes native pollinator plants, and educates local elementary students on environmental and STEM initiatives. Formally a muddy drainage ditch, the site is now vibrant with asters, coneflowers, and black-eyed susans. In addition to beautifying the area and acting as an outdoor classroom, the garden will prevent erosion and local flooding, filter stormwater before it enters local waterways, and support bees and butterflies. The project even inspired the city to adapt its ordinances to include such gardens as an approved stormwater mediation method, opening a path for similar projects in the future.