Paint Iowa Beautiful - French Icarian Refectory

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300 East Locust • Suite 100
Des Moines, Iowa 50309
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Spring 2014
Governor Branstad Proclaims April as Keep Iowa Beautiful Month
Paint Iowa Beautiful French Icarian Refectory
Keep Iowa Beautiful
Annual Conference
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Webster City Community Theatre
Webster City
MOVING FORWARD:
CREATING A NEW IDENTITY
At home…at work…where you live
Early registration (before April 25)
$25 for KIB members
$35 for non-members
$10 students
Registration form on-line:
www.keepiowabeautiful.com/help/annual-conference
KIB’s Paint Iowa Beautiful program provided Diamond Vogel paint
for French Icarian Colony Refectory near Corning.
Governor Terry E. Branstad has signed a proclamation making April
KEEP IOWA BEAUTIFUL MONTH. Community projects during the month
encourage Iowans to build pride and respect in making their communities
better places to live and work through beautification, clean-up and
recycling activities.
“I encourage every mayor to promote a project in their local
community,” said Gerry Schnepf, Executive Director of Keep Iowa Beautiful.
“Clean-up and beautifications projects help build stronger communities
and improve the economic vitality and cultural health of our state.”
As the Proclamation states, “Keep Iowa Beautiful, a state affiliate of
Keep America Beautiful, works with government organizations, private
companies, communities and volunteer/service groups statewide to
conduct litter prevention, recycling, beautification, community and
landscape enhancement, increased volunteerism and waste minimization
programs…”
For more than 14 years Keep Iowa Beautiful has worked to empower
Iowans to make Iowa the cleanest and most attractive state in the nation.
ED SKINNER RECEIVES KEEP IOWA
BEAUTIFUL HOMETOWN PRIDE VISION AWARD
Ed Skinner was honored at the 2nd Annual
Donald F. Lamberti Hometown Pride Vision
Award dinner on March 31st at The Meadows
Events and Conference Center in Altoona.
“Ed’s leadership of investing time and
resources has helped improve the economic
vitality and cultural health of central Iowa
communities,” said Mike Richardson,
Chairman of the KIB Board of Trustees. “He
has helped Keep Iowa Beautiful build stronger
communities that have improved the beauty
and cleanliness of our state.”
Mr. Skinner, Altoona attorney, has a long
history of serving communities as city attorney
and two terms as a state representative. He
has served as treasurer and member of the
Democratic State Central Committee. A strong
supporter of education, he has been active in
the Southeast Polk School District, serving on
the board and establishing a scholarship fund.
Ed’s involvement in economic development
include many infrastructure, residential and
business projects in eastern Polk County. Civic
organizations and board service number close
to twenty. He is a graduate of Drake University
Law School and is active in a number of
professional organizations and his list of
honors and awards take a page. Ed is selfless
in giving for the betterment of others.
The Hometown Vision Award is named in
honor Donald F. Lamberti, retired Founder and
Chairman of the Board of Casey’s General
Stores. The award is presented annually to an
Iowan that believes a community’s economic
vitality and cultural health are dependent
on the image a community presents to its
residents and visitors.
Don Lamberti presenting the Donald F Lamberti Hometown Pride Vision
Award to Ed Skinner (Center). Holding the award is Lois Skinner.
Board of Trustees
Mike Richardson
Chairman
Miriam Erickson Brown
Vice-Chair
Donald F. Lamberti
Honorary Co-Chair
Robert D. Ray
Honorary Co-Chair
Anthony J. Colosimo
Secretary
Doug Shull
Treasurer
Jeff Badger
Michael Chilton
Neal Coleman
Kim Drautz
Steven Falck
William J. Fultz
Tom Hanafan
Megan Hess
Barbara Lykins
Reo Menning
Brandon Nielson
Nancy Richardson
Loretta Sieman
Ed Skinner
Scott Smith
Paul Trombino III
Inky Westfall
Staff/Consultants
Gerald F. Schnepf
Executive Director
515-323-6507
William H. Jackson
Associate Director
515-490-4754
Martha McCormick
Education Consultant
515-979-3311
Margo Underwood
Hometown Pride Consultant
641-420-3896
Doug Friedli
Community Coach
402-873-2215
www.keepiowabeautiful.com
Laurens Hometown Pride
Committee Thinks Green
and Sees Recycling Results
As we celebrate Keep Iowa Beautiful Month and Earth Day, what is your
community doing to Think Green during April?
Members of the Laurens Hometown Pride Committee are working hard
to increase recycling participation and the amount of recycling collected
curbside in their community. Last year Barb Smith, Laurens Hometown
Pride Committee Chair and City Clerk, reported to the Hometown
Pride Committee members that 150 of approximately 600 households
participated in the curbside recycling program. The Committee thought
that the community could do better and enthusiastically wanted to help.
Hometown Pride Committee members responded by identifying two
needs to help increase recycling participation and the amount of recycling
collected curbside. Committee members decided that additional recycling
information on what can be recycled is needed along with convenient
18-gallon recycling containers to store residents’ recycled materials for curbside collection on recycling day.
Jumping into action, the Hometown Pride Committee applied for a 2013 Keep Iowa Beautiful Community
Beautification Grant to purchase 300 18-gallon recycling containers. The grant application was selected for funding
and the containers were purchased and distributed to interested residents last summer. Just a few recycling
containers remain and these are provided to new residents in Laurens. In addition, a new recycling flyer listing
items that can be recycled and cannot be recycled curbside was developed and distributed to households on Make A
Difference Day last October. Hometown Pride Committee members teamed up with Laurens-Marathon High School
students to go door-to-door to distribute the recycling flyers and talk with residents about the benefits of recycling.
According to Barb Smith, “Our recycling efforts have begun to pay off in Laurens. Following the distribution of the
new recycling containers and recycling educational information, recycling collected curbside increased 16,720 pounds
in 2013 when compared with 2012 recycling totals. With the increase in recycling participation and the amount of
recycling collected, Laurens’ landfill fees will have the second lowest increase in Pocahontas County at 5.65%.”
Litter Letter Project
“When will we be collecting trash for the Litter Letters Project cause
the street by my house is a mess!!!!” this question from one of the 4th
grade participants in our planning meeting at CFUM’s (Children and Family
Urban Movement’s) Haven program.
It’s amazing what a group of kids can do to change their community
when they have some say in the project. Last week the KIB educational
consultant worked with two groups from this inner city afterschool
program. The “Littles” cleaned up the litter from the block around Trinity
United Methodist Church where they meet, and the “Bigs” worked through
a democratic process to choose the word HOPE and brainstorm ways to
raise money for the project.
The kids are working now to raise the last $250 to pay for building the six-foot tall rebar/chicken wire letters.
They’ll work with a group of adult volunteers on April 25 to fill the letters with trash from around the neighborhood.
It’s going to be hard for anyone to get away with littering in the 6th Avenue Corridor once this project is launched!
NANCY RICHARDSON ELECTED TO KIB BOARD
Nancy Richardson has been elected to the Keep Iowa Beautiful Board of Trustees.
Prior to her retirement in 2011, she was Director of the Iowa Department of
Transportation, serving in that position under three governors.
“We are very pleased that Nancy is going to serve again on the Board of Trustees,”
said Mike Richardson, Chairman of the KIB Board of Trustees. “Her leadership and
experience will be a great assest as we work to build stronger communities that
improve the beauty and cleanliness of Iowa.”
Ms. Richardson is on the boards of directors of the Iowa Donor Network, the
Community Foundation of Johnson County, serves on three University of Iowa
committees and involved in several fundraising efforts. She and her husband, Charlie
Krogmeier, live in Coralville.
Governor Terry E. Branstad awards
Keep Iowa Beautiful Byer’s
Environmental Scholarship winners
Elijah Sents of Columbus City attending Iowa State University
Coy Moore of Hamilton attending Upper Iowa or Simpson College
Zoey Mauck of Des Moines attending Iowa State University
Garret Taylor of Creston attending Iowa State University
Jackson Hendricks of Clarksville attending Luther College
2014 AWARD WINNERS
Keep Iowa Beautiful’s 2014 annual award winners for enhancing
the beauty, cleanliness and attractiveness of the state of Iowa were
presented their awards by Governor Terry Branstad at the State
Capitol on March 13.
Corporate Award of Excellence—Our Iowa Magazine for the efforts
and financial support in making a significant difference in enhancing
the quality of life in Iowa. Pictured (LtoR) KIB’s Gerry Schnepf, Our
Iowa Editor Jerry Wiebel, Paula Wiebel and Governor Branstad.
Each student received $1,000 to use toward college expenses in
environmental studies. Students were selected based upon their academic
achievement and community service.
“It is critical that we encourage and support the youth of our State to better understand and to provide a long-term commitment to our environment,
the beauty of our natural resources and countryside, and their importance
in our lives in building pride and respect,” said Gerry Schnepf, KIB Executive
Director.
Pictured (L to R) Gerry Schnepf, Jay Byers, 5 scholarship winners and
Governor Branstad.
KIB PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS
The winners of the 4th Keep Iowa Beautiful Photography Contest aimed at
raising awareness of Iowa’s natural and environmental beauty are:
FIRST PLACE: Leo Alan
Schwertley from Modale.
Photo: “Red Sumac” taken
in the Loess Hills in western
Iowa.
SECOND PLACE: Andrea
Frantz from Storm Lake.
Photo: “Snowy Iowa Field”
taken in Buena Vista County.
“This is a great way for
Iowans to share what they
like about rural and urban
Iowa,” said Gerry Schnepf,
KIB Executive Director. “This
photo contest offers both
amateur and experienced
photographers an opportunity to tell Iowa’s story in a
fun, engaging way.”
The next contest deadline
for the annual contest is
December 31, 2014. Entry
guidelines and rules are
available at www.keepiowabeautiful.com/kib-photography-contest.cfm
Organization Award of Excellence—Trees Forever for assisting
communities with vision planning to enhance the quality of life
in Iowa. Pictured (LtoR) Trees Forever Board Member Margo
Underwood, Founding President & CEO Shannon Ramsay and
Governor Branstad.
Community Award of Excellence—The City of Cedar Rapids for
community enhancement efforts, beautification programs, the
City Managers 1Bag Challenge and supporting Adopt-a-Highway
programs. Pictured (LtoR) KIB’s Gerry Schnepf, Cedar Rapids
Council Member Ralph Russell, City Manager Jeff Pomeranz and
Governor Branstad.