 More than 200,000 southern and eastern Kentuckians have volunteered in the region’s PRIDE initiative for environmental cleanup and education. The announcement was made July 10, 2006, by Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers (KY-05), PRIDE co-founder, at a press conference in London.
“The PRIDE initiative will sink or swim depending on whether or not each of us takes a personal claim on making our region a cleaner, healthier place to live,” said Congressman Rogers. “I am really proud of the way individuals and communities have banded together to tackle the mountains of garbage that litter our beautiful land and waterways. Thanks to the blood, sweat and tears of more than 200,000 volunteers, our region is getting cleaner. There is still much to do but there is no question that we are taking remarkable strides forward.”
Since PRIDE began in 1997, Rogers reported that the following progress has been made in improving the environment in the 38-county region:- 203,914 volunteers have worked 584,993 hours picking up trash and helping with environmental education projects in local schools.
- 2,268 illegal dumps have been cleaned by volunteers and local governments.
- 441,074 bags of trash and 106,232 tons of trash have been removed from illegal dumps, waterways and roadsides.
- 881,564 old tires and 156,223 scrapped appliances have been collected for proper disposal.
PRIDE Spring Cleanup Awards
Rogers also recognized the city, county, school and nonprofit organization with the greatest volunteer participation in the 2006 PRIDE Spring Cleanup, which took place April 8-22. The winners were the City of Mt. Vernon, Laurel County, West Knox Elementary School and Tri-Cities Heritage Development Corporation (Harlan County).
Trophies were presented to Mt. Vernon Mayor Clarice R. Kirby; Laurel County Judge/Executive Lawrence Kuhl and PRIDE Coordinator Jim Ed McDaniel; West Knox Elementary teacher Jenny Iley; and Tri-Cities PRIDE Coordinator Christi Lewis-Yercine.
PRIDE Volunteers of the Month
Bond Pentecostal Holiness Church in Jackson County was honored as the PRIDE Volunteer of the Month for July 2006. The churched signed up 84 volunteers to pick up trash along 10 miles of roadway during the Spring Cleanup. They picked up just over one ton of trash, 10 tires and numerous recyclable metal items in just four hours on April 6.
George and Suzie Razmus of Corbin were honored as the Volunteers of the Month for August 2006. They organized the first annual Corbin Bypass Cleanup. The couple owns Tri-County Cineplex, which is located on the bypass in Corbin, and recruited other businesses to donate door prizes, T-shirts and lunch for the volunteers.
Miss Redbud Trails 2006
Helping Rogers present awards was Kelsey Marie Holcomb, Miss Redbud Trails 2006. She represented Tour Southern and Eastern Kentucky, a nonprofit organization that promotes tourism in the region. A partner in the PRIDE Spring Cleanup, the group identifies tourist attractions to be cleaned by volunteers and donates redbud trees to be planted at cleanup sites.
About PRIDE
The information presented by Rogers was PRIDE’s annual report on volunteerism and solid waste collection. The report included data reported to PRIDE as of June 30, 2006. The data was reported by local PRIDE Coordinators and recipients of PRIDE grants that were used for cleanup and education projects. PRIDE Coordinators are volunteers appointed by county judge/executives and mayors to organize PRIDE cleanup activities in their communities.
The annual Spring Cleanup is PRIDE’s largest volunteer event. Over two weeks, local governments across the region organize cleanup events and mobilize volunteers to clean public areas, roadsides and waterways. PRIDE grants are available for trash disposal costs. PRIDE provides gloves, safety vests and T-shirts for the volunteers.
PRIDE — Personal Responsibility In a Desirable Environment — was created in 1997 by Rogers and the late General James Bickford, the former Kentucky Secretary of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection. PRIDE encourages and assists communities to improve water quality, clean up dumps and promote environmental education. PRIDE is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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