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August 2018
e-Newsletter
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Executive Director Report
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The “Dog Days of Summer” are here - I really admire all of the KMB affiliates that are continually picking up and cleaning up your communities in this heat. The heat has not hurt the perky zinnias that are making all of us smile as we ride by this beautiful site on Highway 51 in Ridgeland. This was a great partnership with Keep Ridgeland Beautiful and the Ridgeland Chamber of Commerce. I encourage all of you to drive by this beautiful field of colorful zinnias.
I applaud the hard work that Jeannine May and her Keep the Rez Beautiful team along with John Sigman and everyone with the Pearl River Valley Water District; they continually work at keeping this area clean for everyone, not only for the homeowners at the Reservoir but for all visitors as well.
Well, I am a little sad that my grandchildren are starting back to school, we have enjoyed this summer learning to take care of our environment. They have picked up in their neighborhoods and also at the beach while we were on vacation, they wanted to set the example for others to do the same. I am so proud of them. Thanks: Mike, Lexi and Doss.
I want to say thank you to Governor Bryant for hosting the Keep Mississippi Beautiful Board of Directors, Neeley and myself at his office to sign a proclamation for kicking off our
“CAN IT”
Campaign. I hope everyone is seeing our new billboards across the state and we especially thank DAK Prescott, Pepsi and Lamar for their support in helping us Keep Mississippi Clean and Green.
Thank you to all of our Affiliates who submitted your KAB Annual Reports by August 1- Shout out to Evelyn Copeland, Keep Simpson County Beautiful, to have her's submitted first from Mississippi!
We look forward to seeing everyone in September at the Keep Mississippi Beautiful/Keep Alabama Beautiful Conference as our friends in Alabama are the host this year.
Sarah
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KMB Assistant Director, Neeley Jones; KMB Executive Director, Sarah Kountouris, Keep Ridgeland Beautiful Affiliate Director Jan Richardson, and our soon to be new affiliate, Keep Picayune Beautiful's Christy Goss visiting Keep Ridgeland Beautiful's zinnia project "Ridgeland... Rooted in Success".
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Keep Mississippi/Alabama Beautiful's
Annual Joint Conference
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Thursday, October 25-
Friday, October 26, 2018
Perdido Beach Resort,
Orange Beach, AL
This year's annual Keep MS/AL Beautiful conference will be hosted by Keep Alabama Beautiful at the Perdido Beach Resort beginning at
10:30 A.M. on Thursday, Oct. 25 and will dismiss before NOON on Friday, Oct. 26.
Mississippi Affiliates must RSVP to Neeley at neeley@keepmsbeautiful.com by Sept. 14. You must make your own hotel reservations.
Hotel Info:
Period Beach Resort (800) 634-8001
Online Reservations can be made at
perdidobeachresort.com - our group code is 15764 for a $99 standard room rate.
Hotel Reservation Deadline is Sept. 14.
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Mississippi Affiliates Receive
$50,000+ from Keep America Beautiful grants
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Congratulations to these Mississippi affiliates who received a
Lowe's Community Partner
grant from Keep America Beautiful!
We are excited to see the end result of your projects!
Keep Canton Beautiful- $10,000
Keep Canton Beautiful will be adding a community co-op garden with an outdoor classroom/gathering area in close proximity to the city square. Canton residents and visitors will be able to sit here and read. Canton schools will be able to use it for teaching opportunities about gardening/growing food and herbs and the importance of pollinators.
Keep Diamondhead Beautiful- $10,000
Keep Diamondhead Beautiful's objective of this project is to replenish trees and improve the water quality, reduce flood risk and recharge the groundwater supplies by capturing and filtering stormwater. The goal is to provide a warm, welcoming and inviting atmosphere resulting in people wanting to spend more time in the community, purchase homes and enjoy the waterways.
Keep Jackson Beautiful- $20,000
Keep Jackson Beautiful will use the funds to maintain, sustain and expand gardens and edible landscapes throughout the City of Jackson that are a part of the Jackson Community Garden Initiative by creating two new permaculture orchards and revitalizing one existing garden using permaculture techniques.
Keep America Beautiful has been offered the unique opportunity to partner with a leading battery manufacturer to distribute an overrun of 9V batteries. These batteries are most often used in home safety devices such as smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors.
Congratulations to Keep Belzoni Beautiful and Keep Tupelo Beautiful for receiving over 18,000 9V batteries each to ensure the safety of their residents.
Keep Belzoni Beautiful
will partner with MS State University Extension Service to provide Healthy Home Initiative workshops throughout Humphreys County and batteries will be distributed to attendees. KBB will also partner with community organizations and churches holding back to school events to speak about home safety and distribute batteries there as well. They will work with home health organizations to make sure that all the homes they visit understand the importance of having a smoke detector and keeping the batteries changed as needed.
In conjunction with National Fire Prevention Month in October,
Keep Tupelo Beautiful
will partner with the Tupelo Fire Department to distribute batteries for smoke detectors to our community. A portion of the batteries will be distributed by the Tupelo Fire Department and Keep Tupelo Beautiful at festivals, school education events, community education events, and through neighborhood associations. KTB feels this will help garner attention to their affiliate and their mission while also helping to increase public safety.
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Keep America Beautiful's
2019 National Conference
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Keep America Beautiful will host its 2019 National Conference at the
Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel,
from Feb. 6-8, 2019. For Keep MS Beautiful Affiliates, now is a great time to seek sponsorship for conference registration- early bird registration is $575.
KAB's National Conference is the premier annual educational, training and networking forum presented for the benefit of our National Affiliate Network, partners and sponsor organizations. Charm City was chosen because of Keep Maryland Beautiful's and Baltimore City's rapid embrace of Keep America Beautiful's movement, in addition to its rich American history.
This year's theme: Placemaking. Placemaking inspires people to collectively reimagine and reinvent public spaces as the heart of every community. Stay tuned for the conference agenda and more details!
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CAN IT MISSISSIPPI PROCLAMATION
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THANK YOU TO GOVERNOR BRYANT FOR SUPPORTING OUR DAK PRESCOTT CAN IT MISSISSIPPI CAMPAIGN!
Thank you to our Board Members Mark Williams, Sandy Powlett, Joel Yelverton, Lauren Fordice, Shari Veazey, Richard James, and Ron Aldridge for visiting with Governor Bryant as he signed this proclamation on July 30, 2018.
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Keep America Beautiful Recycle Bowl Competition is a fun 30 day recycling competition between schools across the nation.
Objectives of this program:
- Establish new recycling programs within schools
- Increase or improve recycling rates in schools that currently recycle
- Provide teacher/student educational opportunities about recycling and waste reduction
Important 2018 Dates
Registration Opens: 8/6/18
Registration Deadline: 10/12/18
Competition Starts: 10/15/18
Competition Ends: 11/15/18
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Ridgeland... Rooted in Success
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“In summer, gardening requires plants with three key qualities: low maintenance, heat and drought tolerance and brilliant color – the brighter, the better. Zinnias fit the bill on all three counts, and more. In fact, they’re one of the best flowers that smart gardeners can put to work in their gardens,” McKie said.
We thank Jan Richardson, Keep Ridgeland Beautiful Affiliate Director for showing KMB staff and new Affiliate Director Christy Goss of Keep Picayune Beautifu the zinnia field. There were so many pollinators enjoying them as well! Job well done to Keep Ridgeland Beautiful!
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KEEP AMERICA BEAUTIFUL GRANTS AVAILABLE
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Keep America Beautiful's Community Restoration and Resiliency Fund
Rolling Deadline
Keep America Beautiful's Community Restoration and Resiliency Fund benefits Keep America Beautiful Affiliates that serve communities directly affected by natural and environmental disasters. The fund provides immediate and long-term support for initial and ongoing cleanup efforts and helps rebuild vital public spaces: parks, greenways, community gateways, Main Street/downtown areas, open spaces and more.
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Keep MS Beautiful and MS Department of Transportation Celebrate 30 Years
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Keep Mississippi Beautiful was recognized at MS Department of Transportation's July 24th Commission Meeting in honor of our 30 year partnership.
KMB presented recent awards Mississippi Department of Transportation received:
2018 Keep America Beautiful Partnership Award, 2018 Keep MS Beautiful State Government Award, and Keep the Rez Beautiful's 1st place in Project Rezway Competition.
Pictured from left to right, front to back: Jessica Warrington, MDOT D4 Litter Coordinator; Lorrie Redden, MDOT State Litter Coordinator; Neeley Jones, KMB Assistant Director; Sarah Kountouris, KMB Executive Director; Commissioner Dick Hall, MDOT Central District; Wanda Woodard, MDOT D3 Litter Coordinator; Jeannine May, Keep the Rez Beautiful Affiliate Director; Courtney Goode, MDOT D2 Litter Coordinator; Connie McMullan, MDOT D5 Litter Coordinator; Dolphus Weary, KMB Board Member, Commissioner Mike Tagert, MDOT Northern District; Ron Aldridge, KMB Board Member, Commissioner Tom King, MDOT Southern District, Michelle Williams, MDOT D1 Litter Coordinator; Joel Yelverton, KMB Board Member, and Melinda McGrath, P.E., MDOT Executive Director.
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Keep Mississippi Beautiful is now enrolled in the Kroger Community Rewards Program!
If you have a Kroger Plus Card, please help us earn rewards by registering online. If you do not, Plus cards are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
ONLINE INSTRUCTIONS:
- Click on Sign In/Register on kroger.com
- Most participants are new online customers, so they must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.
- Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering zip code, clicking on favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
- You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
- Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
- Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
- Update or confirm your information.
- Our NPO number is 29322, select Keep Mississippi Beautiful from list and click on confirm.
- To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see your organization’s name on the right side of your information page.
- REMEMBER, purchases will not count for KMB until after you register your card(s).
- Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 800-576-4377, select option 4 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
- Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.
Please share this information with your board members, volunteers, friends and family!
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Future Dates:
Sept. 14 MS/AL Conference hotel block ends
Sept. 15 KAB Affiliate Reporting deadline to be in Good Standing
Oct. 3 Keep America Beautiful Central Region Webinar
Oct. 25-26 Keep MS/AL Beautiful Conference - Orange Beach, AL
Feb. 6-8 Keep America Beautiful Conference- Baltimore, MD
Feb. 27 KMB Legislative Day
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