“An Amazing Gift”: Mayor, Council Praise South Carolina’s Newest Affiliate of Keep America Beautiful
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
COLUMBIA, S.C. (Aug. 27, 2026) — Keep America Beautiful® (KAB) has certified Keep Fort Mill Beautiful (KFMB) as an official affiliate, with support from Keep South Carolina Beautiful (KSCB), the state affiliate of KAB and a division of PalmettoPride. KFMB joins a statewide network of roughly 40 certified and pre-certified KSCB affiliates.
Joseph Berry, PalmettoPride’s affiliate services manager, presented the certification Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, during a Fort Mill Town Council meeting. Fort Mill Mayor Guynn Savage called the new affiliate a “priceless” benefit for the town. “It is an amazing gift to Fort Mill,” Savage said.
KFMB began as a committee of local volunteers appointed by Fort Mill Town Council to address litter, recycling and beautification — the three focus areas at the heart of KAB’s mission. Over the past year, that committee completed two KAB-led training sessions, developing bylaws, a mission statement, an advisory board and a multiyear plan — the same process required of every KAB affiliate nationwide. “Keep Fort Mill Beautiful has shown a great commitment to their community by implementing new and proven strategies to meet the Keep America Beautiful focus areas,” said Joseph Berry.
“We are thrilled to officially join the Keep America Beautiful family,” said Ivelina Dean, D.M.D., M.D.S., M.B.A., chair of the KFMB committee. “We look forward to actively championing its core values and working together to build cleaner, greener and more engaged communities.”
KFMB is already active in the community. The committee helped establish pollinator gardens at Harris and Steele Street parks, spearheaded the town’s participation in America Recycles Day® and the Great Southeastern Pollinator Census, and organized regular litter pickups throughout Fort Mill. With certification now official, the affiliate’s next stop is the 2026 SC Litter Summit, where KFMB will join dozens of KSCB affiliates from across the state in Myrtle Beach, Sept. 9-11, for training, networking and program planning.
PalmettoPride helps fund KAB affiliates across South Carolina, covering upfront certification costs and providing a startup grant, along with ongoing training, technical assistance and access to additional funding for local litter and beautification projects.
“South Carolina is changing fast, and every corner of the state is feeling it,” said Sarah Lyles, executive director of PalmettoPride. “New residents, new development, more people out enjoying our parks, trails and waterways — that all comes with responsibility. We want every community in South Carolina to have a plan in place to protect what makes it special, and Fort Mill’s certification is a great example of a community doing exactly that.”
“The Town of Fort Mill is excited to be part of not only Keep America Beautiful’s robust affiliate network, but also the Keep South Carolina Beautiful family,” said Mina McLean MacDonald, Fort Mill’s stormwater management coordinator. “PalmettoPride has been instrumental in helping us complete the affiliation process, and their support has been a game changer for our volunteers.” Communities interested in getting involved with PalmettoPride should contact info@palmettopride.org.
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About PalmettoPride: PalmettoPride leads statewide efforts that inspire and empower community action, build public awareness and support local solutions that reduce litter and care for South Carolina’s environment. Created as the South Carolina Governor’s Task Force on Litter by the S.C. General Assembly in 1997, the organization became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2001 and was renamed PalmettoPride — a public-private partnership united by a shared goal: preventing litter by shifting attitudes, habits and expectations around waste in South Carolina.
Website: https://www.palmettopride.org/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PalmettoPride/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PalmettoPrideKSCB/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/palmettopride