December 12 , 2006

CONTACT:
Robert Wallace/Larry Kaufman
Tel: 203.323.8987, Ext. 811/817
Email: rwallace@kab.org/lkaufman@kab.org
Web site: www.kab.org

Keep America Beautiful Presents Volunteer Leadership Award
to Angleton’s Joanne Weik
Weik recognized for years of volunteer service during 53rd annual KAB National Conference

Stamford, Conn. – December 12, 2006– Keep America Beautiful, Inc. President G. Raymond Empson presented the Volunteer Leadership Award to Joanne Weik, a long-time volunteer with Keep Texas Beautiful and local affiliates Keep Jackson Lake Beautiful, Keep Angleton Beautiful and Keep Brazoria County Beautiful, during Keep America Beautiful’s 53 rd Annual National Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Keep America Beautiful launched the Volunteer Leadership Award in 2003, during its 50 th anniversary year, to honor volunteers who have gone above and beyond the call of duty to beautify and improve their communities.

“None of our work would be possible if it weren’t for the millions of volunteers that support our programs and our mission,” said Empson. “Joanne Weik exemplifies the characteristics of an ideal Keep America Beautiful volunteer. Some would say she is the ultimate volunteer.”

Weik has traveled nearly 74,000 miles and donated tens of thousands of hours to events for Keep America Beautiful, Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Lake Jackson Beautiful, Keep Angleton Beautiful and Keep Brazoria County Beautiful.

While working for the City of Lake Jackson and serving as the first Volunteer Coordinator for the Clean City Commission, Weik volunteered with the education committee and helped start a scouting patch program for Texas’ youth. As the KTB advisory committee Chair, she raised funds by starting the first KTB auction.

Weik then brought her environmental interests to work with her at BASF, helping to jump start company’s award-winning recycling programs, creating the Litter Getter Awards for the Adopt-A-Highway groups, and assisting with highway cleanups and beach cleanups. She has also helped to coordinate the area-wide “Habitat Walk” for 2,500 volunteers.

Now, as a BASF Site and Community Outreach Representative, she is instrumental in the “Responsible Care Week” program including the environmental education of local 5 th graders.

Weik’s husband Stan is the 2000 winner of Keep America Beautiful’s Iron Eyes Cody Award, which is given annually in honor of Kee pAmerica Beautiful’s landmark public awareness campaign of the 1970s, “People Start Pollution. People Can Stop It,” which featured the iconic face and tear of Iron Eyes Cody and is credited with awakening the environmental consciousness of an entire generation.

The Weiks moved to Angleton, which had been a KTB affiliate but was inactive. The City Council, influenced by Joanne, voted to start a new program, and she was appointed to the board and elected the first Chairperson.

Joanne’s love for environmental education blossomed and spread to the schools in Angleton, where she introduced Waste in Place to the curriculum and secured a grant to fund a recycling program in every school. Joanne has also helped Keep Angleton Beautiful start Adopt-a-Spot programs and is helping it in its final stages of developing a Liberty Garden.

Joanne has now turned her attention to Keep Brazoria County Beautiful. Her latest achievement promises to be the biggest yet. Thanks to her tireless efforts, Brazoria County was recently awarded a grant of over a quarter of a million dollars to build a Home Chemical Waste Collection Site with an Environmental Learning Center. The new Center will extend the region’s collection from a one-day annual event to a year-round facility.

“While this award is the Volunteer of the Year award, it is really recognition of a lifetime of achievements stemming from Joanne’s devotion to the ideals of volunteerism,” Empson added.

“Joanne Weik is that rare individual who comes along maybe once in a lifetime,” said Lake Jackson City Manager Bill Yenne. “Joanne possesses a unique mixture of talents which she has chosen to use for the benefit of others – not herself. She seeks no acclaim, she seeks no reward. Her satisfaction comes from the knowledge of a job well done and the benefit it provides others. Joanne is a gift to us all.”

For a complete listing of all Keep America Beautiful 2006 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 and its 20 th anniversary Vision for America Award, please go to www.kab.org.

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