Local Eco-focused Nonprofit Receives President’s Circle Award from Keep America Beautiful and Governor’s Circle Award from Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation

Lawrenceville, Ga. – March 17, 2017 – Less than three full months into the New Year, and 2017 is already proving a wildly successful year for Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful (GCB).  The Metro Atlanta-based environmentally-focused nonprofit has been honored with not just one, but TWO esteemed environmental awards from Keep America Beautiful and Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation.

In January at the Keep America Beautiful National Conference, GCB received the coveted President’s Circle Award created to recognize exemplary performance by certified affiliates of the national nonprofit in creating clean, green and beautiful communities. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful consists of a national network of more than 620 community-based affiliates whose programs, initiatives and efforts, supported by millions of volunteers, help transform public spaces into beautiful places. In qualifying for a President’s Circle Award, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful demonstrated that it had met Keep America Beautiful’s standards of merit by conducting an annual Community Appearance Index, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio, and administering activities in the areas of ending littering, improving recycling, and beautifying the Gwinnett County community.

“One of Keep America Beautiful’s most effective tools is the work of our grassroots network of affiliate organizations, which has an impact on millions of Americans each year,” said Keep America Beautiful COO Becky Lyons. “Our affiliates are providing real solutions that help create communities that are socially connected, environmentally healthy and economically sound.”

In February at the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation’s Legislative Day, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful was again recognized with a Governor’s Circle Award. This award is also designed to herald exemplary performance by certified affiliates in reducing litter, minimizing waste and greening local communities. Georgia is the first state in the Keep America Beautiful (KAB) network to create a Governor’s Circle Award modeled on KAB’s national good standing designation, The President’s Circle Award. To qualify for the Governor’s Circle Award, affiliates must be in good standing with Keep America Beautiful; conducting an annual Litter Index, calculating the affiliate’s cost/benefit ratio and engaging volunteers to take greater responsibility for their community environment. Additionally, the affiliate must be an active member of the Georgia network.

“The affiliates receiving the Governor’s Circle Award represent the best of community improvement efforts”, said Sarah Visser, Executive Director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation. “They are doing the hard work every day to keep their communities economically vibrant and environmentally sustainable.”

GCB Executive Director, Schelly Marlatt had this to say about the two awards, “It is such an incredible honor to be recognized by both Keep America Beautiful and the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation for the work we do at the local level to keep our community engaged and educated about our impact on the environment. With eight new members on our board, we’ve got some great new ideas that we hope to initiate over the course of the remainder of the year that will no doubt put us squarely in the spotlight for consideration of both awards NEXT year.”

To learn how to become more involved with Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and its initiatives, prospective volunteers and community partners are encouraged to visit www.gwinnettcb.org or call (770) 822-5187.

About Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful:  Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful Services, Inc. (GCB) is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate and award-winning 501(c)(3) charitable organization. It boasts an expansive community-based network dedicated to finding long-term solutions to environmental and quality of life issues through individual action. The organization is guided by a Citizens Advisory Board that represents all sectors of the Gwinnett County community. A nationally recognized leader in creating cleaner, greener and more livable communities throughout Gwinnett, GCB involves more than 100,000 volunteers annually to clean and restore public places, recycle more, protect watersheds and develop the next generation of environmental stewards. To learn more about Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful, please visit www.GwinnettCB.org.

About Keep America Beautiful: Keep America Beautiful (KAB) wants to ensure that beauty is our lasting signature. A leading national nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. KAB envisions a country in which every community is a clean, green, and beautiful place to live. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful provides the expertise, programs and resources to help people End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. The organization is driven by the work and passion of more than 620 state and community-based Keep America Beautiful affiliates, millions of volunteers, and the support of corporate partners, municipalities, elected officials, and individuals. To donate or take action, visit www.kab.org.

About Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation (KGBF):  Created in 1978 by Governor George Busbee, Keep Georgia Beautiful (KGB), became the first state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful.  In 2011, the Keep Georgia Beautiful program merged with the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation, Inc. which was created in 1985 to promote private sector financial support for worthwhile educational programs that enhance the environment and the quality of life in Georgia. KGBF coordinates a number of environmental efforts including the Great American Cleanup™ and the statewide Bring One for the Chipper Christmas tree recycling program.  The Foundation is based on a fundamental premise that the environmental interests of the state of Georgia and the people who live here are best served when public and private interests work hand-in-hand to achieve common goals. Our connections with the public and private sectors aid us in our mission to support local Keep Georgia Beautiful affiliates as they build and sustainable communities through litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling, water resource management and community greening.  For more information about the KGB Foundation, please visit www.keepgeorgiabeautiful.org or call the office at (404) 679-4910.