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History: In 1967, a group of Texas leaders had a vision to make Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Diane C. Birdwell
Friday, May 25, 2001 @512-478-8813

KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL ANNOUNCES ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE AWARD WINNERS
Callisburg Wins Top Award!

(Austin, Texas) - Who Keeps Texas Beautiful? The citizens of Callisburg do, that's who. Callisburg is one of nine communities presented the Governor's Community Achievement Award by Keep Texas Beautiful, Inc. (KTB) and will share $1,000,000 in landscaping prizes from the Texas Department of Transportation for excellence in community environmental programming. The City of Callisburg and Keep Callisburg Beautiful will be recognized at the 34th Annual Keep Texas Beautiful Convention in Fort Worth, June 26 - June 29, 2001 for their efforts.

Keep Callisburg Beautiful (KCB), an affiliate of Keep Texas Beautiful, had an incredible year with much of the success coming from the outstanding volunteer spirit of the citizens of Callisburg. In total, they donated more than 3,000 hours to keeping Callisburg beautiful. The results have been incredible as Keep Callisburg Beautiful hosted two all-city litter pick-up events, two junk-away days, and participated in the Great American Cleanup. The junk-away days alone resulted in 24 ½ tons of metal being recycled, 36 batteries, and 42 bicycles being given to the Lions Club for recycling.

In Callisburg, everyone gets involved. Throughout the school year all 1,100 students received Don't Mess with Texas litterbags as well as viewing the Keep Texas Beautiful and Don't Mess with Texas videos. The younger students made posters with environmental messages and created slogans for Keep Texas Beautiful such as "Don't Give Hugs To Litterbugs." The high school boasts three recycling bins, Page 2 members of the boy scouts planted four trees on Arbor Day, and the girl scouts planted flowers for the new flower bed at the Methodist Church on Earth Day.

Then came plans for a new five-acre city park, old buildings were torn down, crepe myrtle trees were planted, vacant lots were cleaned and everything began looking a lot prettier in Callisburg.

This marks the 32nd Annual Governor's Community Achievement Awards, which are presented to communities in nine population categories that have the best grassroots volunteer environmental programs in the state. The communities exhibited excellence in community leadership, litter prevention, public awareness, education, solid waste management and recycling, illegal dumping enforcement and beautification. These prizes are designated for landscaping along state-maintained highways in their communities.

According to Debbie Moody, KTB board president, the quality of the entries from the communities was exceptional. "It's obvious the citizens of Callisburg are committed to environmental stewardship and to making their city the most outstanding community in Texas. This year's awards have proven that one can make a difference," she said. "One scout troop, one civic organization, or one local business can make a recognizable difference in their community."

Keep Texas Beautiful, the nonprofit state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, strives to empower Texans through education to take responsibility for enhancing their community's environment. KTB works with volunteers, elected officials, businesses and state and federal agencies to ensure that every Texan has the opportunity to take individual responsibility for making Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation. For more information on programs and events, call 1-800-CLEAN-TX or visit the website at www.ktb.org.

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