Texan Wins National Professional Leadership Award

Stamford, Conn. – December 13, 2005 – Keep America Beautiful presented Stacy George Cantu, executive director of Keep Texas Beautiful, with its Professional Leadership Award during its National Awards ceremony at the recent 52 nd Annual National Conference in Orlando, Fla.

The Professional Leadership Award is the highest professional honor given by Keep America Beautiful. This award is presented annually to one or more Keep America Beautiful affiliate directors who have built and sustained a local or state program with exceptional success. Those honored have also furthered the goals of Keep America Beautiful by their contributions to the national Network of Affiliates, including training initiatives and the establishment of model programs and long-term partnerships between the public and private sectors.

Cantu started her involvement with Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep America Beautiful as the executive director for Angelina Beautiful/Clean where her program consistently won state and national awards. Cantu then served Keep Texas Beautiful in the position of director of marketing and events before her promotion to executive director in 2001 . As executive director of Keep Texas Beautiful, she has continued the tradition of developing model, award-winning programs and building strong partnerships across the state.

She has significantly contributed to Keep America Beautiful at the national level through her execution of the Great American Cleanup in Texas and through the Keep America Beautiful State Leaders Council, of which she serves as secretary. She has also served as a mentor to many new state and local affiliates throughout the national Keep America Beautiful organization and has been instrumental in the development of a marketing plan designed to increase the number of Keep America Beautiful state affiliates.

“Stacy not only contributes to the success of Keep Texas Beautiful, she brings her leadership and enthusiasm to Keep America Beautiful,” said Keep America Beautiful President G. Raymond Empson. “She is looked upon as a leader in Texas and cares deeply about its quality of life.”

Cantu is a graduate of Oklahoma State University. In addition to her work for Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, she is active in the Texas Society of Association Executives.

For a complete listing of all Keep America Beautiful 2005 National Award winners in all categories, as well as information about its awards program, please visit Keep America Beautiful’s Web site at www.kab.org.

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. To learn more about Keep America Beautiful, go to www.kab.org.

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