Another year has ended and we wake up to a new day of the New Year! New Years always bring a fresh look at what we can do different then what we did last year. It has been tradition to make resolutions for a fresh start and to look for ways to improve in the coming year. Making resolutions is not something that I normally do, but I tend to always say, “I will work on losing weight and studying more in the new year.” One thing I do like to do in my “me time chair by the window” is look over the year before and reflect on the things and people in my life that I am grateful for.

As the executive director for Keep Liberty Beautiful, it has been an amazing year for us! It’s been a whole year since I started working for Liberty County and I have enjoyed every bite of it. When I started I had two great young men Samuel McDuffie and Bobby Reynolds, to work with and I end the year working with two wonderful young ladies, Theresa Rapolla and Avier Pyles. When I think about how genuinely thankful I am for the over 4,000 local citizens that volunteered with Keep Liberty Beautiful this past year, my heart is over joyed. We have so many dedicated people here in Liberty County, that volunteer again and again each year. Volunteer action does make a difference in reducing waste that ends up in landfills, in protecting our waterways and the quality of our water by reducing the amount of litter accumulating in our environment, and by working together to make our community the best it can be.

Here at KLB we are also so thankful for the recycling collection staff and all of the citizens and schools and businesses that recycle in our community. Thank you, Brenda, for always supporting us with your small staff for the incredible effort that you make to serve our community.

We are also very thankful for not only the county public works and solid waste staff, but also the public works employees in each of our local cities. We also sincerely appreciate the support of county and city officials that support KLB programming. Partnering with our local cities and neighborhoods for community projects ensures successful efforts. We also appreciate partnerships with our local schools, so that we can educate the next generation of environmental stewards.

We sincerely appreciate our friends at The Coastal Courier, The Chamber and the CVB, and our Facebook friends that help us get the word out about programs and events. Thanks to all of you! 

We at KLB would like to say thanks to our Keep Liberty Beautiful Advisory Board Members. The Advisory Board Members not only help guide the programming each year, they work! Each board member provides over forty hours and more of volunteer work annually to implement our programming. They make our work successful and so enjoyable. Thanks to each of you: Willa Lewis, David Sapp, Willie Cato, Pearl Axson, Gloria Cook-Osbourne, Mike Davis, Lillian Gray, Wendy Kirkby, Ashley Hoppers, Charm Reed, Renee Harwell, Patricia Nash, Derone Armstrong, Felecia Boatwright, Daniel Clark, Chriscilia Cox, Britta D’Angelo, Lauren Dore, Debra Flory, Evanne Floyd, Nichole (Nikki) Gaskin, Douglas Harn, Zorrida Harris, Sheri Kane, Kelli Lyn Morningstar, Whitney Morris-Reed, Jeff Potter, Gypsy Tart, Phyllis Tucker, Patrick Underwood, Bobby Reynolds, Michael Wood, and Lisa Wright.

One more thing, I will be very grateful to all the citizens that recycle their live Christmas trees for mulch by January 11, 2020, through our Bring One for the Chipper event. For more information, check out our information on www.keeplibertybeautiful.org. You can also contact us by phone (912) 880-4888 or email us at klcb@libertycountyga.com. Happy New Year’s!