Environmentally Focused Nonprofit Gets Back to its Roots, Introduces Six New Board Members and Announces Closure of Recycling Bank of Gwinnett in April 2016
Duluth, Georgia, February 10, 2016 – When it was first launched in 1980, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful’s (GCB) primary mission was to educate and engage the public about the issues of illegal dumping and littering in order to improve the environment and quality of life within the Gwinnett County community. In the 36 years since, the eco-friendly Keep America Beautiful affiliate has expanded its efforts exponentially by adding impactful programs such as Adopt-A-Road, Adopt-A-Stream, Bring One for the Chipper Treecycling, Great Gwinnett Wetlands, Graffiti Prevention, Green & Healthy Schools, Great American Cleanup, Stormwater Protectors, the ME (My Environment) Campaign, and so much more. On the heels of the February 2016 Board Meeting – which witnessed the addition of six new members to the Board and the completion of GCB’s 2012-2016 Strategic Plan, all eyes are on the future as the nonprofit organization’s evolution comes full circle with a renewed focus on its education and engagement efforts throughout Gwinnett.
“As we enter into our next five-year cycle, we’ve been carefully examining our community’s needs and our organization’s most successful impacts,” said Bartow Morgan, Chairman of the Board for Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. “The facts tell us that we need to invest our time, talents and treasures to end littering, improve recycling and beautify our community. That mission really isn’t all that different from what our founding members set out to do. Over the course of nearly four decades, we’ve learned that our education and engagement efforts have consistently had the greatest impact. So as we plan for the future, that’s where the majority of our focus will lie.”
A part of that future includes the introduction of the following new members to GCB’s Advisory Board: Mark Abrams – President of Aspen Information Systems, Inc.; Scott Andrews – Economic Development Director for City of Sugar Hill; Christina Kim – CEO of LK Enterprise, LLC; Tyler White – VP/Community Relationship Manager at United Community Bank; Donald Lee – Guardian Ad Litem Unit at Gwinnett County Juvenile Court; and Marianne Velker – SVP | Manager – Global Leasing Sales Support at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Outgoing members include: The Honorable Kristina Blum – Chief Judge of the Magistrate Court of Gwinnett, Tim Hur – Managing Broker/Owner of Point Honors & Associates Realtors, Caryn McGarity – CEO of The McGarity Group, J.K. Murphy – formerly of Gwinnett Daily Post, Sean Murphy – CEO of Procurri, Michael Park – Partner at I.B.I. Consulting, Dr. Manfred Sandler – Managing Partner of CardioVascular Group, and Yvonne Whitaker – Administrator of NCR Foundation.
“We truly appreciate the precious gifts of time and talents given to us by our outgoing members and wish them the very best in all of their future endeavors,” stated Morgan. “As sad as we are to see them go, we are excited to welcome a new group of Board members who will undoubtedly bring a fresh perspective, great ideas and renewed sense of energy to their duties. They join dozens of other seasoned veterans who are deeply vested in our collective vision of the future of Gwinnett and the health of the environment we all share.”
Another development that came out of the February Board Meeting and the decision to concentrate efforts primarily on education and citizen engagement was the announcement that Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful will cease operations at The Recycling Bank of Gwinnett by the end of April 2016.
“The closure of the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett speaks to the awesome impact our recycling education and engagement efforts have had on our citizens,” Morgan said. “An overwhelming majority of Gwinnett County residents and most businesses have access to curbside recycling programs or on-site recycling collection through a variety of private sector haulers. Due to the efficiencies in newer operations, the Recycling Bank of Gwinnett is simply no longer needed by the public at large like it was when it first opened in 1986. Of course, this move in no way means that we are getting out of the recycling ‘business’ altogether. Quite the contrary. GCB can improve recycling best through educating and engaging people upfront to be clever consumers and responsible recyclers.”
Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is currently in discussions with community partners to launch a recycling app which will serve a variety of functions, such as the provision of a list of recyclable materials that are accepted curbside, locations that accept recyclables that cannot be left at the curb and alerts about upcoming community recycling events, among other things. GCB also plans to partner with local communities to host recycling events at different times of the year, and present more content on its website to educate the public about the proper ways to recycle, alternative solutions to non-recyclable materials and manufacturers that utilize recycled materials in their goods and packaging – just to name a few.
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.
