2023 Awards of Excellence Winners
At the 2023 biennial Keep Tennessee Beautiful Conference, Keep Tennessee Beautiful recognized 17 award winners in various categories for their exceptional work within the Keep Tennessee Beautiful mission. Along with special recognition, $54,000 in grant funding were distributed to award winners to aid their organizations as they continue their amazing work. On this page, you can read about each award winner and what they achieved to earn the award.
Category 1: Public Education
Awards given to organizations or individuals for outstanding public education activities
involving citizens working together to improve their community’s appearance.
First prize for public education was awarded to Memphis City Beautiful
The purpose of Memphis City Beautiful’s Slam Dunk Litter League was to educate the public about litter, litter prevention, and sustainability as well as provide a fun, incentive-based way for citizens to get involved and learn how to conduct a cleanup. The Slam Dunk Litter League competition consisted of 36 teams competing in all seven city council districts, cleaning up our city and competing for personal and charitable prizes. The competition was basketball-themed to inspire excitement and civic pride among Memphis citizens, as well as engagement from prominent community organizations and leaders. In July of 2022, Memphis City Beautiful hosted, partnered, managed, or assisted with 144 cleanups with 678 volunteers. In August of 2022, we accounted for 122 cleanups with 546 volunteers. Those numbers almost doubled during September and October when Litter League was active. In September of 2022, the program accounted for 287 cleanups and 1,398 volunteers. In October of 2022, we accounted for 246 cleanups and 1,099 volunteers. These totals include Slam Dunk Litter League totals and Memphis City Beautiful Cleanup totals outside of the Litter League. These number show how education and action can motivate others to take an active role in taking care of their communities.
Second prize for public education was awarded to Keep Chester County Beautiful
The impact of environmental youth education in Chester County can be reflected in the increase of recyclable materials being collected in the community, the decrease in the presence of litter, and the amount of community involvement in environmental events and activities. Because KCCB projects involve youth projects together with community members, projects bring great pride to community residents by giving them a sense of ownership in the creative and rewarding works of art. Over 15,000 people are educated every year with the programs we offer. Each event and partnership had businesses or organizations involved to accomplish each project. Without partnerships, and events to educate residents and students in and out of the classrooms this would not be possible. By forming partnerships and having volunteers support the events like the city and County Mayor’s Office, Chamber of Commerce, Preschools, High Schools, TDEC, TDOT, KTNB, Gene Record Park, Businesses in the community, elected officials, and residents make the events successful.
Third prize for public education was awarded to Keep Soddy Daisy Beautiful
Keep Soddy-Daisy Beautiful proudly hosted the highly successful second annual Soddy-Daisy Arbor Day on March 4, 2023. Our impactful project took place at the Veterans Park located at 9009 Dayton Pike, Soddy-Daisy, TN 37379. The primary objective of this endeavor was to advance Soddy-Daisy's goal of preserving its native tree cover by introducing an array of indigenous trees to Veterans Park. Through planning and collaboration with the city and tree vendor, Black Fox Farms, we successfully planted a total of thirty-five Tennessee-grown native trees, encompassing two varieties of red maples, willow oaks, and the majestic state tree, the tulip poplar. Each of these trees boasted an impressive stature of approximately 10 feet and a robust 2-inch caliper.
Category 2: Public Participation
Given to an organization or group of individuals who are superior
in the promotion, participation, and scope of a public participation event
Great American Cleanup™ of Tennessee Award
Great American Cleanup™ of Tennessee Award was given to Metro Beautification & Environment Commission for their effort and participation in the Great American Cleanup where they mobilized a vast amount of volunteers to participate in litter cleanups all around Davidson County
Adopt-A-Highway Award
Adopt-A-Highway Award was given to Colonial Chemical for their repeated efforts in volunteer litter cleanup efforts along 2 miles of highway 156 in Marion County.
Lakes, Rivers & Streams Litter Free Award
Lakes, Rivers & Streams Litter Free Award was given to Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful for their targeted efforts in targeting litter where it meets natural water resources in Tennessee. Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful had a diverse set of initiatives including: litter cleanups, cigarette litter prevention, placement of Seabin devices, and the Adopt A River Mile Program.
Category 3: Leadership
Edith Heller Lifetime Achievement Award
The Edith Heller Lifetime Achievement Award is presented in grateful appreciation of her 30 plus years of dedicated service to Tennessee and the nation. A once-in-a-lifetime distinction award for a person who has demonstrated longtime leadership in raising public awareness about solid waste issues, litter prevention, community greening, and/or recycling.
The 2023 Edith Heller Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Frank “Bucky” Edmondson
Before retiring in 2022, Bucky Edmondson was the Director of Natural Resources for the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). This organization manages 293,000 acres of public land and 11,000 miles of shoreline on 49 reservoirs across a seven-state region in a cost-effective and efficient manner, that supports TVA’s mission of environmental stewardship. He worked with his team to serve the people of the Tennessee Valley by managing the diverse use of TVA public property for commercial, industrial, residential, and recreational activities. Additionally, the Natural Resources team works to protect natural and cultural resources associated with its managed lands within the Tennessee River system. Under Edmondson’s leadership, the organization issues more than 1,600 permits and agreements annually for access and use along the Tennessee River and its tributaries. These areas are used for a host of public and commercial recreation activities, including commercial marinas, boat launching ramps, and state and county parks. TVA’s Natural Resources’ group strives to balance these uses with resource management, working to ensure public land remains available for camping, hiking, hunting, fishing, and general use. His career spanned four decades, most of which were spent working with the public and TVA partners to manage and care for TVA’s public lands and natural resources. His leadership has led to the development of many TVA guidelines and policies. Most recently, he has spearheaded the development of TVA’s Natural Resource Plan, which guides how TVA manages its natural resources for the next twenty years.
Judge Larry E. Potter Law Enforcement Award
The Larry E. Potter Law Enforcement Award is a once in a lifetime award recognizing a law enforcement professional, such as a police officer, prosecutor, judge or environmental compliance officer, who has gone above and beyond in their approaches to enforcement of environmental laws and regulations.
Edith Heller Lifetime Achievement Award
The Edith Heller Lifetime Achievement Award is presented in grateful appreciation of her 30 plus years of dedicated service to Tennessee and the nation. A once-in-a-lifetime distinction award for a person who has demonstrated longtime leadership in raising public awareness about solid waste issues, litter prevention, community greening, and/or recycling.
The 2023 Judge Larry E Potter Law Enforcement Award was given to Glennis Monday
As the Campbell County Environmental Officer, Glennis Monday has long exemplified a commitment to litter prevention and awareness that others could only describe as pure passion. Glennis is a lifelong native of Campbell County and has always been dedicated to protecting the East Tennessee Mountains that he calls home. Long before he became our county’s Environmental Officer, Glennis worked in the coal industry and could often be seen walking along the roads in his community picking up litter during his free time. He hated seeing trash littering the beautiful mountains and waterways in the county and wished that he could do something to solve the issue. When the position of Environmental Officer became available, General Tom Stiner, then County Mayor and a revered war veteran in Campbell County, recommended Glennis for the job due to the strong environmental leadership example he had set with litter cleanup in his own community. Coming from a family of law enforcement officers, Glennis was familiar with the impact law enforcement could have in a community and felt that this was his opportunity to finally make a difference with the litter problem in the county. However, he considered the position with some apprehension knowing how difficult a career in law enforcement could be. While growing up, Glennis would hear stories of his grandfather, Reuben “Brownlow” Monday who was a Sheriff in Claiborne County, and some of the situations his job had put him in. “Brownlow” Monday even had his arm shot off during a bar shootout in 1957! I guess we could thank Glennis’ brother-in-law, a retired officer from the Kentucky State Police, who served as encouragement for Glennis to take the position. In the early 1990s, Glennis would visit with him, and they would often end up discussing law enforcement and Glennis would accompany him on calls. In looking back at all these visits with his brother-in-law, Glennis decided to meet with then Campbell County Sheriff, Ron McClellan, to apply for the position as Environmental Officer. After months of interviewing at county commission meetings, he received the position in 1999 and was bonded as a Deputy Sheriff. Since then Glennis has demonstrated his abilities as an exceptional law enforcement officer, mentor, and colleague.
Shawn Bible Community Leadership Award
The Shawn Bible Community Leadership Award, newly named after TDOT Highway Beautification Office Administrator, Shawn Bible in honor of her outstanding career efforts in Keeping Tennessee Beautiful.
The 2023 Shawn Bible Community Leadership Award was given to Cereice Morris
Cereice Morris lives in Memphis, TN, but her heart is with "The Beach at Clifton, TN" where she owns her vacation home and several rental properties. She registered as an Adopt a River Mile in the Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful program. After receiving her package of cleanup gear, KTNRB swag, and Adopt a River Mile sign as all adoptees do, she rallied her friends and followers on her Facebook page to follow suit and adopt all of the river miles in the Clifton area. As a result of her challenge (and thorough follow up with people she knew that lived on each river mile), we had over 40 river miles in a row spanning three counties adopted! Cereice didn't stop there, though. Each adoptee is required to host two cleanups a year and she organized for a coordinated cleanup to be held near Earth Day. Because the adopted river miles span three counties, she had to arrange for trash removal sites with three county solid waste offices. Additionally, she collaborated with Keep Wayne County Beautiful and (I think) Keep Muary County Beautiful to arrange for Adopt a Highway miles for residents that wanted to help but lived inland. For this cleanup, she also recruited KTNRB to bring our boat for volunteers to ride in and clean shorelines. The adoptees ended up removing several thousand pounds of trash on their own, and it was all because of Cereice's challenge and leadership to see the cleanup through. Since then, she has been working to arrange another collaborated cleanup again in 2023.
Martin L. Kennedy Award For Outstanding TN Keep America Beautiful Affiliate Coordinator
The Martin L. Kennedy Award, named in honor of the first TDOT Highway Beautification Office Administrator, recognizes outstanding, professional service by a LGP or KAB staff member.
The 2023 Martin L. Kennedy Award was given to Kathleen Gibi, of Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful.
Kathleen started as Executive Director of Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful in 2019. The organization was required by contract with TVA to host 4 cleanups with Living Lands & 4 cleanups on their own. The first year she led the organization, they hosted more than 20 cleanups! Kathleen has led the organization to increase the original fleet from one boat, adding another boat, two kayaks and two trucks to haul the two boats! Until the second boat was added, Kathleen was the sole boat driver for KTNRB, minus the occasional help of Living Lands & Waters bringing their own boats or a TVA official joining a cleanup with their boat. She even drove the boat to 30 cleanups in 2022 while pregnant the first 9 months of the year! She was nearly 8 months pregnant in July on her last cleanup before having the baby. This year, she has helped to lead volunteers to remove a record number of trash (147,000 lbs. in 2023 alone) while also keeping her baby at home full-time while waiting on a spot at daycare (been on four daycare waiting lists since she was 3 months pregnant!) Since Kathleen took KTNRB's first boat on its maiden voyage in 2019, she has helped to rally 3,800 volunteers to remove over 580,000 lbs. of trash from the Tennessee River watershed.
Category 4 TDOT County Litter Grant Program Award Class A and Class B
The Class A Award was given to Keep Chester County Beautiful
Keep Chester County Beautiful (KCCB) and the Chester County TDOT Litter Grant have a litter prevention, recycling, and environmental awareness program in Chester County to teach the public about litter prevention behavioral change and the importance of keeping our county and state clean. The Litter Grant Administrator/Education Coordinator utilizes many educational tools and partnerships to achieve program success. The West TN Regional Recycling Hub and Keep Chester County Beautiful held the first Environmental Camp at the Observation and Education classroom. The camp was designed to teach students about the importance of recycling, litter prevention, landfills, and composting. Students painted the slogan Nobody Trashed TN on rocks and other designs. The rocks were used to make a rock snake; you can continue adding rocks yearly. Other activities included Binny the Recycling Bin mascot making an appearance to take pictures with students, KTNB poster boards being colored, students playing a litter game from the KCCB online toolkit on the website, singing a recycle song and dancing, watching the skid loader from the observation window, watched the Binny video on recycling, and made a recycled bird feeder. WBBJ news media did a story on the camp, and it was shared on all social media outlets. The camp had 10 students, 2 teenagers who volunteered to help, and the education coordinator. The West TN Mobile Classroom was designed and developed by the Coordinator and a Southwest Electric grant along with the litter grant. The grants helped add 8 STEM stations that replicate the Observation and Education classroom stations at the Recycling Hub along with a new trailer wrap on the classroom. In 2018, the Hub received a special litter grant and was able to add a classroom with 13 activity stations about litter, recycling, composting, and the environment. The mobile classroom is a smaller replica of the classroom. The goal of the mobile classroom is to take the classroom to other counties that are not able to come on field trips to the West TN Regional Recycling Hub. The mobile classroom was finished in 2019 and teaches students about litter, recycling, and landfills, and has hands-on activity stations like the recycled magnet game, recycled metal picture sculpture, and landfill model. The classroom was used at Jackson Christian School and Caywood Elementary School. Over 900 students walked through the mobile classroom this year. The Recycling Hub and Keep Chester County Beautiful attended Touch a Truck Day with the library and brought the mobile classroom and gave out over 300 car litter bags over the last two years. The West TN Observation and Education classroom has been updated with two new activity stations. A litter maze to show students the importance of picking litter up off the roads, parks, water ways, was added and a waterways station to show how each waterway is connected and how litter travels from roadsides to creeks, to larger rivers, then to the ocean, and how harmful it is to marine life. The classroom now has 13 stations including a preschool corner to read the new litter book, Binny helping the animals, and a new recycling book. The classroom is used by surrounding counties, local schools, and other government organizations for meetings, school field trips, litter prevention events, and tours of the Recycling Hub.
Class B Award was given to Keep Monroe County Beautiful
Keep Monroe County Beautiful has hosted and has participated in several opportunities to create a more beautiful and safe environment for the state of Tennessee. KMCB has hosted 10 events which included 15,856 attendees. 19,982 citizens of Monroe County and surrounding areas have been educated about litter abatement and the Tennessee litter law. Keep Monroe County Beautiful has hosted 3 cleanups in the last year (No Trash November, Great American Cleanup, and one additional cleanup) and has sponsored and participated in the US Forest Service Annual Tellico River Cleanup. All of this consisted of 39 miles of roadway cleaned and 1,786 pounds of litter removed. Furthermore, Keep Monroe County Beautiful hosted their 10th annual Christmas Light Recycling Drive where 218 pounds of Christmas lights were diverted from land fills and sent for recycling. 17 litter free events were also held by KMCB where they provided the trash cans, recycle containers, and can liners at no cost for local events. KMCB partnered with two local libraries in purchasing recycling bins for the libraries to provide the public with a resource to recycle printer ink cartridges. Three KMCB scholarships were awarded to graduating high school seniors with a passion in the environment. Lastly, KMCB hired Barry Mitchell for litter education performances to educate all 2nd and 4th grade students of the hazards of litter and the importance of reduce, reuse, recycle, and re-think in a fun and memorable manner. The total number of participants KMCB had for roadside cleanups was 28, with 112 volunteer hours donated. Additionally, Keep Monroe County Beautiful hosted their 4th annual Tire Recycling Drive (in assistance with Monroe County Office of Solid Waste and Liberty Tire). Through the tire drive, 850 tires were collected from Monroe County residents and sent for recycling. Monroe County Office of Solid Waste also hosted an additional tire drive and free paint disposal 6 months after KMCB's, which KMCB collaborated with, for an additional 980 tires to be collected. Keep Monroe County Beautiful has also coordinated with East Tennessee Environmental Educators for a Water Quality Workshop dedicated to Monroe County and several Trivia Nights in which native aquatic species are discussed and the hazards of pollution. KMCB dedicates their time and shows their passion in protecting, preserving, and conserving the environment by educating youth of all ages and adults.