PalmettoPride Honors South Carolina’s Litter Prevention Leaders at 2026 SC Litter Summit

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (Sept. 21, 2026) – Nearly 150 litter prevention professionals, volunteers and law enforcement officers gathered Sept. 9-11 for PalmettoPride’s annual Litter Summit, hosted in partnership with the South Carolina Litter Control Association. Three days of programming, networking and professional development brought Keep South Carolina Beautiful affiliates together from across the state.

As South Carolina’s statewide anti-litter organization, PalmettoPride manages the Keep South Carolina Beautiful program and provides technical and financial support to local Keep America Beautiful affiliates, helping communities build and sustain effective litter reduction and beautification initiatives. The Summit’s signature moment is the annual awards luncheon, where the state pauses to recognize the leaders doing the on-the-ground work of keeping South Carolina clean.

2026 Summit Awards

Golden Broom: Spartanburg County was awarded the Golden Broom for the most outstanding volunteer participation in the SC Sweep campaign’s first two years. The traveling award goes annually to the county with the highest participation, and next year’s Sweep kickoff event will be held in the winning county — this year, Spartanburg. Now in its second year, SC Sweep is a 10-day volunteer mobilization campaign that launched in 2025; in that time, volunteers have removed more than 600,000 pounds of trash statewide. The next SC Sweep takes place March 18-29, 2027. 

Program of the Year: Keep the Midlands Beautiful earned the honor for Connecting and Protecting Communities, which paired volunteer cleanups with hyper-local mural installations under the theme “Greetings From.” Over the past year, the affiliate engaged more than 6,700 volunteers who collected over 217,000 pounds of litter, then partnered with local municipalities on community murals to build hometown pride.

Elected Official of the Year: Mayor Brandon Smith of Greenwood, South Carolina, was recognized for his consistent support of Keep Greenwood County Beautiful, including regular attendance at affiliate events and Trash Time with Tara cleanups. Mayor Smith has built litter prevention into his broader agenda, engaging the Mayor’s Youth Council in cleanups and rallying more than 400 Lander University athletes for semiannual ward cleanups each spring and fall.

Board Member of the Year: John Brightbill was honored for his leadership with Keep Aiken County Beautiful since its founding, first as vice chair and now as board chair. Brightbill remains a hands-on presence at roadside cleanups and tarp giveaways, reflecting his commitment to environmental stewardship and community awareness of the impact of man-made debris.

Volunteer of the Year: Bob Maddux of Keep Conway Beautiful was recognized for his leadership of the Lochaven Trash Busters, a volunteer team that has removed 9,843 pounds of litter across 56 cleanups covering 65 miles of roadway. Maddux and his team have also cleared illegal dumpsites and coordinated with local law enforcement for safety during cleanups on high-traffic roads.

Youth Ambassadors: PalmettoPride’s Youth Ambassador program is led by South Carolina high school students with a passion for the environment and community service. This year’s ambassadors, Garland Wilson and William Cutshall — both students at the South Carolina Governor’s School for Agriculture — hosted community cleanups and encouraged their fellow students to get involved. Both were recognized at the Litter Summit and received a $1,000 scholarship for completing the program. The next cohort of Youth Ambassadors will be announced next month.

Champion Award: Given to an individual who uses their influence and networks to advance litter prevention statewide, this year’s award went to Rep. Dennis Moss, R-Cherokee County. A retired South Carolina Highway Patrol officer, Moss has represented District 29 — Cherokee, Spartanburg and York counties — in the S.C. House since 2007. He has filed legislation to establish statewide prima facie standards and civil penalties for littering and led the push for the widely discussed balloon release bill, drawing on his years enforcing the state’s roads to shape policy that protects them. PalmettoPride looks forward to supporting his continued efforts to pass litter-control legislation in South Carolina. Last year’s Champion Award recipient, Trooper Bob Beres, returned to this year’s Summit to help recognize the 2026 honorees.

“This year’s honorees span every generation of this fight from high schoolers leading their first cleanups to volunteers who’ve logged thousands of miles of roadway,” said PalmettoPride executive director Sarah Lyles. “Keeping South Carolina beautiful for generations to come takes all of us, every day.”

Representatives from Keep America Beautiful (KAB) joined the Summit to recognize the recipients of the 2025 President’s Circle Awards. This honor is given to certified affiliates that demonstrate outstanding performance in building beautiful communities. Awardees met KAB’s high standards by completing an annual Community Appearance Index, leading initiatives to end littering, improve recycling and enhance community beautification, along with other efforts that advance KAB’s mission and vision.

2025 President’s Circle Awards

The Litter Summit is designed to celebrate the people doing this work day in and day out — the volunteers, board members, elected officials and affiliate staff whose efforts often go unseen. Keeping litter prevention professionals and volunteers motivated and connected is essential to sustaining progress across the state, and PalmettoPride is proud to give these leaders the recognition they continue to earn each day.

High-resolution photos from the Summit and awards luncheon are available here. For more information on this year’s Litter Summit and award recipients, 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.

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