Keep America Beautiful Certifies Keep Clark County Beautiful!
 

Keep America Beautiful certified Keep Clark County Beautiful on January 30th, making Clark County the 34th KAB affiliate in Ohio. Laura Martin, KAB National Trainer, was in attendance to provide a morning workshop for staff and new Board Members.

On behalf of Keep Clark County Beautiful, Warren Copeland, Mayor of the City of Springfield, accepted a certificate of award at the luncheon ceremony held at the Clark County Heritage Center. Mayor Copeland has been a supporter of the KAB concept of bringing various agencies, community leaders, businesses and citizens together to promote a cleaner community.

Keep Ohio Beautiful is thrilled to have Keep Clark County Beautiful join our strong KAB affiliate network in Ohio. Congratulations!

 Keep America Beautiful Welcomes New President Matt McKenna
 

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation's largest community improvement network, is pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew McKenna as the new KAB President. McKenna most recently served as the Senior Vice President, Finance, at Purchase, N.Y.-based PepsiCo, Inc.

"Keep America Beautiful has an incredible 54-year legacy of building sustainable communities through education and hands-on stewardship," said McKenna. "I am inspired by the work of KAB's millions of volunteers nationwide, and I look forward to advancing the organization's mission to engage individuals in taking greater responsibility for improving their community environments."

As president of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., McKenna is responsible for the organization's strategic planning and program development, and oversees KAB's financial stability and growth. At PepsiCo, Inc., his recent responsibilities have included leading the company's capital planning and review process, and managing PepsiCo's tax strategy, planning, and global compliance. He has previously served as the company's Senior Vice President and Treasurer.

A graduate of Georgetown Law School, and an active director of Foot Locker, Inc., McKenna is an adjunct professor at Fordham University Law and Business School. He has served on the board of trustees for Hamilton College, and the board of Manhattan Theatre Club. He is actively involved in the Bronxville, N.Y. community, where he lives with his wife, Nancy, and four children.

 2008 State Roadway Cleanup Plans Are Underway
 

The Ohio Department of Transportation and Keep Ohio Beautiful invite you to participate in the second annual State Roadway Cleanup. This initiative is part of the Great American Cleanup of Ohio.

KOB affiliates and ODOT will be coordinating cleanup events around the state on Friday, March 28th and Saturday, March 29th. Local KOB affiliates will be recruiting volunteers to clean up litter along state routes in their communities. ODOT is asking that all Adopt-a- Highway groups volunteer by cleaning up their "adopted" spots on March 31st. This is your opportunity to make a positive change in the state of Ohio! Please join hundreds of volunteers around the Buckeye State as we remove litter along our roadways. For more information on how to get involved, contact your local KOB affiliate or ODOT office. Events are also being added to the KOB website.

 New Gateways Beautify Perrysburg
 Cooperative effort creates planting projects

First impressions are lasting impressions and for visitors entering Perrysburg, they will remember the city's beautiful gateways of seasonal flowers, plants, shrubs, and trees.

With the cooperative efforts of the City of Perrysburg, the Country Garden Club, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), Boy Scout Troop 110 of Grace United Methodist Church, and Eagle Scout candidate Kyle Thompson, Perrysburg's three primary entryways have received that lasting impression makeover.

"This is the biggest beautification project we've undertaken since the streetscape project in downtown Perrysburg," said Judy Hagen, Perrysburg Office of Litter Prevention and Recycling coordinator. "We are looking mighty pretty. I would like to thank ODOT, the Country Garden Club, and the scouts for helping keep Perrysburg Beautiful."

Last fall, garden club members, spouses, boy scouts and city employees planted 35 trees, 42 bushes, 139 perennial flowers, 50 mums and 3,000 daffodil bulbs over three weekends. The City received three ODOT grants, totaling more than $37,700, to cover the costs of planting materials.

The Perrysburg Garden Club provided additional financial support for the materials not covered by the grants. The club also made a five-year commitment for maintenance of the three gateways.

 Sponsor Spotlight!
 O-I is a long time KOB partner

Millions of times a day, O-I delivers many of the world's best-known consumer products to people all around the world. With the leading position in Europe, North America, Asia Pacific and Latin America, O-I provides consumer-preferred, 100 percent recyclable glass containers that enable superior taste, purity, visual appeal and value benefits for their customers' products. Established in 1903, the company employs more than 25,000 people with 83 manufacturing facilities in 22 countries. O-I has been a long time supporter of Keep Ohio Beautiful, as well as Keep Toledo/Lucas County Beautiful and Keep Perrysburg Beautiful.

L. Richard Crawford, President of Global Glass Operations, O-I, has been named to the national board of directors of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., as announced at a recent Keep America Beautiful board of directors' meeting in Washington D.C. O-I is a founding member of Keep America Beautiful and has had a presence on the KAB board since KAB's inception.

"As a founding member of the organization, O-I is dedicated to Keep America Beautiful and I am honored to help continue its long legacy of community involvement," said Crawford. "Environmental stewardship is key to O-I, especially in the area of recycling, which certainly supports Keep America Beautiful's mission of promoting greater responsibility for improving community environments."

 Meet the KOB Board Members!
 

This month we are featuring KOB Board member Derek Anderson. Derek serves as the Chief of the Division of Real Estate and Land Management and also Chief of the Division of Recycling and Litter Prevention for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. In this capacity Derek manages over 600,000 acres of land and manages a $25 Million grant program.

Previously, Derek served as the Assistant to the Pastor for Community Development at the Historic St. Paul AME Church in Columbus, Ohio. He also was the Chief Executive Officer of the Community Property Development Corporation and the Director of the Season of Change Intergenerational Adult Day Center.

Derek is a graduate of Marshall University where he focused on Communication Studies and Health Care Management. Derek also received the Doctorate of Humane Letters from Shorter College and a Doctorate from Jackson Theological Seminary. Derek enjoys shopping and traveling in his free time.

Fun Facts About Derek
Favorite TV shows: CSI Miami and Criminal Minds
Favorite Ice Cream: Baskin Robbins Mint Chocolate Chip
Last book Derek read: The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream
What Derek likes best about Ohio: "I like the closeness of the entire state. It's the gateway to many places I like to go. Its close to my home state of West Virginia. I can fly anywhere from here."

 Did You Know?
 

Cigarette butts are litter too!

It is estimated that several trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide every year. In fact, cigarettes are the most littered item in America and the world. Cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate tow, NOT COTTON, and they can take decades to degrade.

What happens after that butt gets casually flicked onto the street, nature trail, or beach? Typically wind and rain carry the cigarette into the water supply, where the toxic chemicals the cigarette filter was designed to trap leak out into aquatic ecosystems, threatening the quality of the water and many aquatic lifeforms. Cigarette butts may seem small, but with several trillion butts littered every year, the toxic chemicals add up!

Join Keep Ohio Beautiful in educating the public about cigarette litter. Contact your local KOB affiliate today to receive a pocket ashtray.



Facts found on www.cigarettelitter.org.