Susan Lester, right, of Carroll EMC accepts an Environmental Excellence Award in the business catergory from Jacqueline Dost, executive director of Keep Carroll Beautiful, at the annual Environmental Excellence Awards Luncheon Tuesday. (Photo by Cliff Williams/Times-Georgian)
The organization presented its sixth annual Environmental Excellence Awards Tuesday at the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce in Carrollton.
Other awards include the organization winner, Carrollton DawnBreakers Rotary Club, and the individual winner, 13-year-old Morgan Whitlock, a student at Carrollton Junior High and volunteer from the school’s Beta Club.
“This electric cooperative strives every day to walk the walk of environmental excellence,” Jacqueline Dost, executive director of Keep Carroll Beautiful, said in her presentation remarks about Carroll EMC. “They take extraordinary measures to recycle as much possible as they can in the workplace and practice good environmental stewardship whenever possible.”
In presenting the organization award to the Carrollton DawnBreakers Rotary Club, Dost said, “This group continues to support Keep Carroll Beautiful in many ways. They’re one of the most active Adopt-a-Road groups we have. They really have a good time at their cleanups and they never have a problem getting members to participate. I always love it when they send me their report and pictures, because there’s so many smiling faces, even though they’ve just spent hours picking up trash.”
Dost said it was a special honor to present Morgan Whitlock with this year’s individual award.
“She first helped us at the latex paint recycling in September,” Dost said. “Then she helped in the fall electronics recycling event. She always has a smile on her face and this year, the selection of this award was a very easy one for this board. We were unanimous in selecting Morgan Whitlock.”
“Once again, congratulations to all of you for taking the lead in our community and keeping this community a better place to live, and helping develop in our children their stewardship and the opportunities they’ll have as the years progress,” said Duane Sohl of Gradick Communications, president of Keep Carroll Beautiful. “We have some great things going on. We did our first paint recycling and it was phenomenal. It’s amazing how many things you can put back in the system. Just keep in mind, ‘reduce, reuse and recycle.’ And also contribute.”
Keep Carroll Beautiful is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, which relies on contributions from companies and individuals for operating expenses. It is governed by a board of directors, which includes local community volunteers and city and county employees. The group meets at noon on the first Tuesday of each month at the organization’s office, 103 Professional Plaza, Carrollton. The phone number is 678-321-4816.
Some of the Keep Carroll Beautiful programs include:
• The Great American Clean Up, the nation’s largest community improvement program, running from March 1 to May 31;
• Electronics Recycling Event, hosted by Southwire Company, and held twice each year. It’s been responsible for recycling more than 50,000 pounds of electronic equipment;
• Bring One for the Chipper, an annual Christmas tree recycling event. The next one will be held on Jan. 5 at Home Depot in Carrollton and Villa Rica, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. People can also take their undecorated trees to any Carroll County convenience center, beginning Dec. 26;
• Curbside recycling, working with the cities of Carrollton and Villa Rica, where homeowners can place their aluminum, cardboard, tin cans, paper and plastic in special blue containers or recycling bins and place them on the curb with regular trash.
• Latex paint recycling, with the first event held Sept. 8 at the Carroll Ag Center on Newnan Road in Carrollton. During the four-hour event, 151 cars came through, dropping off more than 2,600 gallons of latex paint. Dost said while latex paint is not as toxic as older lead-based solvent paints, they still contain toxic chemicals which are put in to extend shelf life and retard mold and mildew. Atlanta Paint Disposal was the vendor who accepted the used latex paint for disposal.
• Carroll County convenience centers, which are owned and operated by the Carroll County Board of Commissioners for the convenience of county residents. Keep Carroll Beautiful maintains a list of convenience centers, which are listed at www.keepcarrollbeautiful.org/recycling/convenience-centers.
Dost joined Keep Carroll Beautiful in September, 2005. She is a native of Canada and holds a B.A. degree from York University in Toronto. She was named the 2011 Georgia Future Business Leaders of America Businessperson of the Year and the 2010 Carroll County Chamber of Commerce Women’s Business Alliance Woman of the Year.
Assistant Director Mary-Bryne Pierce joined Keep Carroll Beautiful in May. She is a graduate of Auburn University with a B.A. degree in graphic design. She has freelance experience in advertising, photo editing and inhouse design.
Keep Carroll Beautiful is a certified affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. Its local business partners include Southwire, Tanner Health System and Carroll EMC.
Gift-in-kind sponsors include Gradick Communications, AAA Private Storage, Advantage Office Solutions, Carroll County Chamber of Commerce and Metro Bank.
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