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

KEEP TEXAS BEAUTIFUL ANNOUNCES HEB ENVIRONMENTAL EXCELLENCE GRANTS
HEB funds environmental project in Haltom City!

Austin, Texas - Who Keeps Texas Beautiful? HEB and Haltom City do. As the largest independently owned grocery chain in the United States, HEB joined with Keep Texas Beautiful to award funding to 16 Texas communities for outstanding grassroots environmental programs. The grants are being announced in conjunction with Make a Difference Day, which is Saturday, October 27, 2001.

Keep Haltom City Beautiful (KHCB) is one of the winning HEB communities. The $500 grant will be used to adopt a new mascot, BEN (Beautiful Environment Needed) as the Haltom City Litter Bear. BEN will help spread the message to use litter "bear-rels" and be a "bear-y" serious recycling example. He will appear at city events, community picnics, and children's library programs. His stuffed likeness will be used as a traveling award to each semester's clean campus winner, and his image will appear on litter barrels and youth education print materials. The goal of this project is to reach at least the 39,000 citizens of Haltom City, with a focus on students, and impress upon them the importance of keeping Haltom City "bear" of all litter.

"Keep Texas Beautiful is very fortunate to have a partner as environmentally proactive as HEB is," said Bill Rogers, President of Keep Texas Beautiful. "HEB has a longstanding reputation of adopting many voluntary measures to save energy and water, prevent pollution, and reduce waste within its facilities. Now they've reached out to make an environmental commitment to the grassroots efforts of communities in Texas."

Reagan Wagner, Environmental Affairs Project Leader with HEB, commented on the importance of working with environmental grassroots efforts. "If we're going to make a positive difference in our environment, everyone needs to do their part, " he said. "Through this grant program with Keep Texas Beautiful, we're able to provide much needed funds to communities so they can create or expand their local environmental programs."

Keep Texas Beautiful, the nonprofit state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, strives to empower Texans through education to take responsibility for enhancing their community 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.