Local Organization Recognized for Exemplary Performance, Standard of Excellence
Burwell, Nebraska March 2, 2020 – Keep America Beautiful®, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, presented Keep Loup Basin Beautiful with its 2019 President’s Circle Award recognition at the Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Conference, which recently took place in Memphis, Tennessee. The President’s Circle Award recognizes exemplary performance by certified affiliates of Keep America Beautiful in creating clean, green, and beautiful communities.
In qualifying for the President’s Circle Award, Keep Loup Basin Beautiful has met standards of merit of Keep America Beautiful by conducting an annual Community Appearance Index; calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio; and administering initiatives to end littering, improve recycling, and beautify communities in Blaine, Boyd, Cherry, Custer, Garfield, Greeley, Holt, Howard, Loup, Rock, Sherman, Valley and Wheeler Counties in Central and North Central Nebraska. Keep Loup Basin Beautiful is one of more than 600 community-based affiliates in the Keep America Beautiful network whose programs, initiatives and efforts, supported by millions of volunteers, help transform public spaces into beautiful places.
“One of our nation’s most effective grassroots community resources is our local affiliates, which engage Americans from all corners of the country in volunteer service each year,” said Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Helen Lowman. “Our affiliates provide real solutions that help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy, and economically sound. They enrich the communities they serve and help create opportunities for Americans to do beautiful things.”
“Keep Loup Basin Beautiful was honored to receive the 2019 President’s Circle Award recognition at the Keep America Beautiful 2020 National Conference,” said Keep Loup Basin Beautiful Affiliate Director Janet Sanders. “Our programs are supported by volunteers, whom volunteer weekly, monthly or periodically and make it possible to do beautiful things throughout our communities.”
Community Appearance Index-Litter Index: The Keep America Beautiful Community Appearance Index-Litter Index is a tool used by its affiliates to visually assess overall appearance of communities through indicators such as litter, illegal signs, graffiti, abandoned or junk vehicles, and outside storage. A team of community, business and government representatives conduct the visual analysis using a scoring system ranging from 1-4, with “1” rated as “no litter” to “4” being “extremely littered.” Each year, affiliates grade their communities during a drive-by examination of the same areas at the same time of the year. This provides an indication of the success of each community’s anti-littering education and other anti-littering programs.
Cost/Benefit Analysis: This measurement tool enables Keep America Beautiful affiliates to demonstrate their ability to leverage community resources by determining the dollar value returned to the community for every dollar invested by government.
The Keep America Beautiful National Conference, its premier educational and networking forum, brings together leaders, experts, and policymakers in the field of community improvement who share innovative ideas and proven strategies to help improve America’s communities.
The Keep America Beautiful National Conference Sponsors: Premium – Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT); Gold – Altria Group and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco; Silver – Keep Tennessee Beautiful. Recycling Market Development Workshop – Keurig Dr Pepper. In-kind sponsor – Mars Wrigley Confectionery.
Keep Loup Basin Beautiful (KLBB), a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, is grant-funded through the Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy (NDEE) and Keep America Beautiful, and is a project of the Loup Basin RC&D Council that promotes litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling, and beautification. KLBB serves thirteen counties in central and north-central Nebraska. For more information about KLBB’s education programs, email KLBB at [email protected] visit www.keeploupbasinbeautiful.org or like them on Facebook. Contact the Loup Basin RC&D office (308)-346-3393 or stop by the office at the Loup Rivers Scenic Byway Interpretive Center, 330 South Highway 11 Burwell, Nebraska.
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s iconic community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. We believe everyone has a right to live in a clean, green and beautiful community, and shares a responsibility to contribute to that vision. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 600 Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the collaborative support of corporate partners, social and civic service organizations, academia, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. Join us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. Donate and take action at kab.org.