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Seventeen Winners Received a Total of $54,000

MEMPHIS – The Tennessee Department of Transportation recently recognized 17 winners of the Keep Tennessee Beautiful Awards of ExcellenceGrant Competition, presenting a total of $54,000 in grants to environmental leaders across the state. Awards were handed out in six main categories: Public Education, Public Participation, Leadership, TDOTCounty Litter Grant Programs, Keep America Beautiful TN Affiliate Award, andKeep Tennessee Beautiful State Level Affiliate Award.

The winners were announced during the TDOT/KTnB Biennial Conference, held in Chattanooga and celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Keep Tennessee Beautiful. KTnB Executive Director Missy Marshall hosted the conference with the theme “Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Progress, and Building the Future.”

Michael McClanahan, TDOT Transportation Manager of the Highway Beautification Office, was on hand to help present the awards. Recipients included affiliates and non-affiliates from the three grand divisions of the state whose work helps improve the lives of all Tennesseans.

“This was a milestone year for Keep Tennessee Beautiful, as we celebrated 40 years of serving Tennessee and helping educate and inspire our citizens daily to improve and beautify their communities,” Marshall said. “We are grateful to TDOT for their generous participation in KTnB’s Awards of Excellence Grant Competition. These environmental leaders work tirelessly to help keep our state clean with litter cleanup and education and prevention initiatives statewide. They truly are making a difference.”

In addition to the awards ceremony, KTnB presented a video highlighting 40 years of accomplishments, including more than 70,000 trees planted, more than 1.3 million volunteer hours, and more than 6 million pounds of litter collected.

Federal Judge Mark Norris, a recipient of the Sierra Club’s Award for Environmental Achievement, the Shelby County Soil Conservation District’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Council of State Governments’ Distinguished Service to the States Medal, brought the keynote address.

The Tennessee ValleyAuthority was the Premier Sponsor of the conference, with the TennesseeDepartment of Tourist Development supporting as a Diamond Sponsor. Additional sponsors included Tennessee Sounds Perfect, Beverage Association of Tennessee,Tennessee Fuel & Convenience Store Association, Food City and Truly Legend.The event spotlighted the accomplishments of the past two years, celebrating the success of TDOT’s “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” initiative and KTnB’s national award-winning “Trashercise” campaign, both aggressive statewide programs.

Visit Keep Tennessee Beautiful.org for the full list of grant recipients.