We had an annual celebration last Thursday to thank our Keep Liberty Beautiful volunteers.  
Time is one of the most precious commodities we have, so I cannot express how much we appreciate these selfless volunteers who give their personal time to make our community a better place to live. Volunteers are the heart of what we do at KLB. Whether it is for litter cleanups, educational activities, recycling and waste-reduction events and programs, or beautification and improvement projects, these citizens give of themselves again and again.
We document our volunteers and events for reports on a fiscal year (it is a government thing). This year, as we come to a close for fiscal year 2014 on June 30, we will have over 3,000 volunteers who have donated well over 12,000 hours to projects. On Thursday, we expressed our thanks and gave special recognition to a few outstanding groups, businesses and individual volunteers.
I hate that part. It really is hard to narrow down outstanding volunteers each year because there are so many of them. I know our program is fortunate to have a problem like that, but it still is hard.  Hundreds of individual volunteers and over 240 partnering groups made KLB events and projects happen this year.
Although I cannot list all of the individuals, our partners this year included:
ACE Hardware, Alpha Gamma Sigma, American Red Cross Red Club, Applebee’s Restaurant, Ardyss K. Bell, Arlington Park, Armstrong Liberty Center, Azalea Road Neighborhood, Beta Gamma Gamma, Bradwell Institute BETA Club, Boy Scout Pack 500, Boy Scout Troop 500, Boy Scout Troop 451, Bradwell Institute, Brenda Hearn, Brewers Tree Farm, Button Gwinnett Elementary, C A Sittle Landscape, Canoochee EMC, Captain Joe’s, Carpathia Paws Inc., Atlantic Area CASA, Century Link, CH2M Hill, Charm Reed, Cherokee Circle, Chi Pi Zeta Chapter, Child Support/DA Office, Chili’s Restaurant, city of Allenhurst, city of Flemington, city of Gumbranch, city of Hinesville (CCD, finance department, inspection/GIS, public works, water department, police department), city of Midway, city of Riceboro, city of Walthourville, Clean Coast, Coastal Auto & Recycling, Coastal DNR, Coastal EMC, Connection Church, Crossroads Church, Delta Gems, Delta Sigma Theta, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Family and Children Services, Dorchester Academy, Dr. Lyle Dentist Office, Dream First Inc., East End Community, Eleven Black Men of Liberty County, Exchange GTB, Farmer’s Natural Foods, Fellowship of Love Church, First African Baptist Church, First Anderson Grove Baptist Church, Frist Presbyterian Christian Academy, First United Methodist Pre-K/Kindergarten, First Zion Baptist Church, Foods of the Farm, Forest Lake Estates, FPCA, FPCA BETA Club, Frank Long Elementary, Fort Stewart Environmental Division, Fort Stewart MWR, Fort Stewart School Age Center, Fort Stewart Youth Center, Full Gospel COGIC, Full Gospel Tabernacle Church, Full Tyme Riderz, Future Farmers of America, Geechee Kunda, Georgia Beverage Association, Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Power Company and Citizens of Georgia Power, Georgia Recycling Coalition, GeoVista, Girl Scout Troop 30227, Goodwill Industries, Grandchildren of Mrs. LeGirtha Jones, Greenshortz, Guardians in Action, Gum Branch Fire Station, H.C. Developers, Hampton Island Club, Harrison Heights Neighbors, Hinesville 1st SDA Youth Department, Hinesville Area Arts Council, Hinesville Child Care/Learning Center, Hinesville Downtown Development Authority, Hinesville First Baptist, Hinesville First United Methodist Church, Hinesville Housing Authority, Hinesville Lions Club, Hinesville Rotary Club, Holiday Inn Express, Holtzman Realty, Housing Authority, Imprint Warehouse, Interact Club, Isle of Wight Neighborhood, ITPA, Jamie Rearley, Jimmy Shanken, John and Marsha Main, John and Pam Henderson, Joseph Martin Elementary, Joy Kennedy, Junior Church of Christ, Julie Dean, Keep America Beautiful, Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, Keep Liberty Beautiful Advisory Board, Kidd Doobie, Lake George Community, LaQuinta Inn, LCBOE Media Specialists, LCHS Green Club, Leadership Liberty, Lewis Frasier Middle School, Lewis Frasier Middle Green Club , Lewis Septic, Lexington Subdivision, LFMS Honors Society, Liberty County 4-H, American Legion Post 321, Liberty County Board of Commissioners and Employees, Liberty County Chamber of Commerce and CVB, Head Start, Health Department, Liberty County High School, Liberty County Consolidated Planning Commission, Liberty County Public Works, Liberty County Recreation, Liberty County schools, Sheriff’s Department, Liberty County Solid Waste and Recycling, United Ministerial Alliance, Liberty Elementary, Liberty Regional Medical Hospital, Liberty Regional Water Resource Council, Liberty Transit, Little Treasures Too, Live Oak Libraries, Long County 4-H Club, Long County, Lyman Hall Elementary, Maria E. Fragosa and Family, McDonald’s Corporation, Midway First Baptist Church, Midway Middle School and Green Team, Midway Museum, Mike Reed Chevrolet, Miller Trust, Mission Works, Morning Glory Garden Club, Ms. Medford’s Class at LFMS, Mt. Zion Outreach, Mt. Zion Youth Ministry, New Anderson Grove Baptist Church, New Day Outreach Ministries, New Zion Baptist Church, Nu Rho Omega Chapter AKA, P. Nash family, Paul Hawkins, PepsiCo, Phi Beta Sigma, Pine Ridge Neighborhood, Pizza Peddler, Platinum 40/40 Social Club, Pro Train, Project Reach G.A.N.G., Pure Platinum MC/SC, Savannah GeoCashers Association, Savannah Tech, Senior Citizen’s Center, Snelson Golden Middle School (STEM Project & Green Club), SNF, SNF Green Team, South Georgia Bank, South Georgia Kings AAU Team, Southern Sweets Bakery, Southland’s Knights Motorcycle Club, Spirit of Peace Church, St. Joseph’s/Candler Immediate Care, St. Phillip’s Episcopal Church, Stanley D. Highsmith Foundation, Steve Welborn, Street Dreamz, Susan G. Komen Coastal Georgia, SWAG, T R Long Engineering, Target, Taylors Creek Elementary, Taylors Creek Elementary Earth Club, Teen Achievers, T.E.L.L., The Coastal Courier, The Dollar General, The Edge, The Heritage Bank, Timber Ridge Neighborhood, To the Limit, Trendsetters Motorcycle Club, United Military Care, VIP Promotional Products and VIP Business Products, WACH/MEDDAC, Waldo Pafford Elementary, Walmart, Walthourville Police Department, Water Systems Management, Watson Transport, Wentz Family, Vaden Nissan, YMCA of Coastal Georgia, Young Adults Leadership Society, and Youth Challenge Academy.  We thank all of you for your contribution to this effort.
We also extend a special thanks to these 2014 Outstanding KLB Volunteers:
• Outstanding Adult Volunteer — Jaime Rearley
• Outstanding Youth Volunteer — Ciara Goodmanson
• Outstanding Business Volunteer — OMI/CH2M Hill
• Outstanding Youth Organization — YALL
• Outstanding Adult Organization — Guardians In Action
We also appreciated South Georgia Bank hosting this event.
Are you ready to make a difference where you live? Call KLB today at 880-4888 or email klcb@coastalnow.net to find out how to get involved. Together, we can create the Liberty County we all want to have.