Keep Clark County Beautiful board member Michael Cooper is pictured here with KAB President and Chief Executive Officer Helen Lowman after accepting the award on Thursday, Feb. 12 in Memphis, TN.
Keep Clark County Beautiful (KCCB) was awarded the 2019 Keep America Beautiful Overall Community Improvement award for its Clark County Sunflower Project at the 2020 KAB National Conference on Thursday, Feb. 12 in Memphis, TN.
The project was a collaboration between KCCB, the Clark County Land Re-utilization Corporation, the National Trail Parks and Recreation District and the City of Springfield.
The organizations worked together to clear a former industrial site, plant the seeds and cultivate the flowers in a field located along West Euclid Avenue in Springfield, Ohio near the bike path.
KCCB also worked with OIC of Clark County to renovate an old, unused garage on the property. KCCB also received a grant from Keep Ohio Beautiful and Sherwin-Williams to purchase paint to beautify the structure. Board members painted the building and displayed sunflower pop art murals on the building, making it a destination along the bike path.
“We are thrilled for partnership opportunities like the sunflower field that leverage the gifts and talents of organizations and volunteers to highlight the beauty of Clark County,” said KCCB President Carolyn Young. “We are thankful to be recognized for our work at a national level and are looking forward to our continuing work together.”
The organization was one of four Ohio affiliates recognized at the conference, including Keep Akron Beautiful, Keep Cincinnati Beautiful and Keep Lorain County Beautiful.
KCCB also won a 2019 Keep Ohio Beautiful award for its Clark County Tomato Project, an educational/fundraising program that involved growing tomato plants to give away to citizens of Clark County while also educating the public about closed loop recycling.