Litter Prevention and Enforcement Leaders Honored at Annual Litter Summit
Columbia, SC – PalmettoPride, in partnership with the South Carolina Litter Control Association, hosted the 2022 Litter Summit in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, in early September. Keep America Beautiful Affiliates representatives, litter prevention professionals and law enforcement officers gathered for an annual meeting, during which program updates and professional development trainings were offered to attendees. In addition, Keep SC Beautiful and the SC Litter Control Association hold an awards luncheon during the conference.
This year, the SC Litter Control Association (SCLCA) presented its David Thomas Award, named after PalmettoPride’s founder and a former SC Senator, to Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette. Evette has been a champion for litter prevention long before she became the lieutenant governor.
“As an elected official, she ensures that the conversations about litter happen at the state level. She pushes our agency heads and legislators to talk trash. She has spoken about the importance of litter prevention as an economic development issue,” said Steve Ward, outgoing president of SCLCA. “She understands the challenges we face as enforcement officers.”
Keep South Carolina Beautiful (KSCB), a division of PalmettoPride and the state affiliate for Keep America Beautiful, Inc. (KAB), also presented awards. This year, two individuals were recognized for their outstanding contributions towards keeping South Carolina beautiful: Kathy Magnum with Keep Conway Beautiful as KSCB Board Member of the Year and Adam Marcinkoski with Beaufort Elementary School as KSCB Volunteer of the Year. Two KSCB affiliates were recognized for outstanding litter prevention and beautification efforts: Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful’s SC Jeans for Teens as the KSCB Program of the Year and Keep Aiken County Beautiful’s Trash Bash at the Border for the KSCB Event of the Year.
KSCB presented 31 affiliates with Affiliate Recognition Awards for being in good-standing with KAB:
- Keep Aiken County Beautiful
- Keep Anderson County Beautiful
- Keep Bamberg County Beautiful
- Keep Beaufort County Beautiful
- Keep Charleston Beautiful
- Keep Conway Beautiful
- Keep Dorchester County Beautiful
- Keep Florence Beautiful
- Keep Georgetown Beautiful
- Keep Greenville County Beautiful
- Keep Greenwood County Beautiful
- Keep Hampton County Beautiful
- Keep Horry County Beautiful
- Keep Jasper County Beautiful
- Keep Lancaster County Beautiful
- Keep Laurens County Beautiful
- Keep the Midlands Beautiful
- Keep Myrtle Beach Beautiful
- Keep Newberry County Beautiful
- Keep North Charleston Beautiful
- Keep North Myrtle Beach Beautiful
- Keep Oconee Beautiful Association
- Keep OneSpartanburg Beautiful
- Keep Orangeburg County Beautiful
- Keep Pickens County Beautiful
- Rock Hill Clean and Green
- Keep Sumter Beautiful
- Keep Wadmalaw Beautiful
- Keep Walterboro Beautiful
- Keep Williamsburg Beautiful
- Keep York County Beautiful
“Being in Good Standing with the national organization is more than implementing programs in the three focus areas of Keep America Beautiful,” said Joseph Berry, PalmettoPride KSCB Affiliate Services Manager, “It is about taking the extra steps to provide data and reports that are critical to the success of the behavior change model. Having so many affiliates to be recognized shows that there are outstanding groups in local communities dedicated to making their communities litter free and beautiful.”
There are 36 affiliates in the KSCB network, and two pre-certified affiliates. For more information, contact info@palmettopride.org.
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PalmettoPride is working towards a litter-free South Carolina. Created as a legislative initiative to fight litter and help beautify South Carolina by engaging citizens to take action in their communities through education, enforcement, awareness and pickup.