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

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

(Austin, Texas) - Who Keeps Texas Beautiful? The citizens of Katy do, that's who. Katy 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 Katy and Keep Katy Beautiful will be recognized at the 34th Annual Keep Texas Beautiful Convention in Fort Worth, June 26 - June 29, 2001 for their efforts.

Keep Katy Beautiful (KKB), 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 Katy as well as a strong partnership with the City of Katy, local businesses and civic organizations, the Katy Times as well as the Katy Independent School District. During this past year, KKB actively participated in 32 events that focused on litter prevention. One of the major events of the year was held just prior to the Annual Rice Harvest Festival and encouraged citizens and local businesses to "Clean Up and Fix Up…Company's Coming…Be Katy Proud!"

Another of the major cleanup events is the Great American Cleanup and Don't Mess with Texas Trash-Off held each spring. This past year volunteers contributed nearly 2,000 hours to the event. During the event more than 68 miles of city streets and seven park acres were cleaned of litter. The Katy Prairie Conservancy hosted 250 workers who cleared trees and brush along fence lines on 6,000 acres allowing bird watchers and wildlife lovers a glimpse into the magnificent Barn Owl Woods.

In addition to the cleanup events, KKB volunteers and their partners focused on numerous community beautification and property improvement projects this past year. These challenging projects included seasonal color beds in the Pin Oak esplanade, landscaping 5th Street and East Avenue esplanade, planting day lilies at Social Services, maintaining 85 oak trees along Katy's main state highway, and developing a new landscaped entry sign on Pin Oak to mention just a few.

And, when it comes to solid waste management KKB has been a leader in recycling efforts citywide. In partnership with the City of Katy and numerous local businesses, more than 2,000 gallons of oil was recycled this past year along with nearly 1,500 oil filters, 228 tires, 23,500 pounds of cans, and 4,800 cell batteries.

Keep Katy Beautiful has played an important role in educating the youth of Katy where environmental education has become a mainstay in the school district's curriculum. Student councils have lead campus cleanup events with such school clubs participating as the Katy High School Geography Club and the Katy Junior High ROTC. Hutsell Elementary School students maintain a butterfly garden and have created terrariums and students from Alexander Elementary School and the Katy Student Council continue to participate in the Adopt-a-Highway program.

This marks the 32nd for the 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 Katy 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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