1,090 volunteered for US 27 Clean Sweep
June 30, 2016 by clackey
Bill Turpen (white shirt), who serves on the PRIDE Board of Directors, and Tammie Wilson (gray jacket), PRIDE President/CEO, presented the award for Blackboard Student Services to (in blue, left to right): Emily McBride, Tyler Price, Lindsay Quigley, Sharon Loveless and Barbra Thurman.
Bill Turpen, who serves on the PRIDE Board of Directors, and Tammie Wilson, PRIDE President/CEO, presented the award for New Life Industries to HR Manager Rick Sexton.
Bill Turpen, who serves on the PRIDE Board of Directors, and Tammie Wilson, PRIDE President/CEO, presented the award for Southern Middle School to James Cox.
In its eighth year, the annual PRIDE Clean Sweep of US 27 surpassed 1,000 volunteers. A record-breaking 1,090 volunteers picked up litter along US 27 and other roads in Somerset and Burnside during the event on April 21, 2016. The previous record was 986 volunteers in the 2015 Clean Sweep.
“Passing 1,000 volunteers is a monumental achievement,” said Tammie Wilson of PRIDE, one of the event sponsors. “Only a handful of cleanups have attracted 1,000 volunteers since PRIDE began working with communities to organize these events almost 20 years ago, and that’s across 42 counties.”
“The community spirit that was poured into the Clean Sweep was wonderful,” Wilson said. “There was great energy and excitement, and volunteers seemed to have fun together, making a difference.”
“I want to thank each and every volunteer who joined the effort, as well as the partners who led the Clean Sweep,” Wilson added. “This event has become so successful because the organizers and the volunteer groups work together very well. It’s like a well-oiled machine.”
The Clean Sweep results were announced at the June meeting of the Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce. The chamber sponsored the Clean Sweep in partnership with PRIDE, The Center for Rural Development, Somerset-Pulaski County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Pulaski County Recycling Center, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 8, and Waste Connections of Kentucky.
“The beauty of Pulaski County is well known throughout Kentucky,” said Bobby Clue, Executive Director of the chamber. “By participating in the Highway 27 Clean Sweep, businesses have the opportunity to demonstrate personal responsibility by volunteering to pick up litter along roadsides and helping to preserve our local environment.”
Almost all the volunteers joined the Clean Sweep as part of a group, such as a business or school. In all, 65 volunteer groups participated.
Clue and Wilson presented awards to the business and school groups that recruited the most volunteers. The award winners were:
- Blackboard Student Services, 1st Place Business, 72 volunteers.
- New Life Industries, Runner-Up Business, 56 volunteers.
- Meece Middle School, 1st Place School, 118 volunteers.
- Southern Middle School, Runner-Up School, 115 volunteers.
The event organizers thanked all the volunteer groups: A1 Communications, Adanta Group Community Mental Health Center, Alton Blakey Ford and Honda, American Screen Printing, BB&T Bank, Blackboard Student Services, Bluegrass Oakwood, Citizens National Bank, Community Trust Bank (north and south), Cub Scout Pack 184, Cumberland Security Bank (north and south), Dairy Queen (U.S. 27 and Main Street), Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 8, Don Franklin Motors, Don Marshall Automotive, Dunbar Head Start, Eastern Kentucky PRIDE, Eastern Kentucky University, First and Famers Bank, Forcht Bank, Ford Brothers/Weichert Realty, Friends of Lake Cumberland, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Homemakers Club, Hope Way Head Start, Kingsford Manufacturing Company, Knights of the Horseman, Lake Cumberland Regional Hospital, Lowe’s, Meece Middle School, Mellow Mushroom Pizza, Modern Systems, Monticello Banking Co., New Life Industries, Northern Middle School, Office Depot, Operation UNITE, Penn Station, Pine Knot Job Corps, Pulaski County Public Library staff, Pulaski County Public Library PRIDE Club, Pulaski County Day Treatment, Pulaski County Fiscal Court/Government, Pulaski County High School, Reed Brothers Insurance, Reno’s Roadhouse, Sk8ters Paradise, Somerset Animal Hospital, Somerset High School, Somerset Nursing and Rehab, Somerset-Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, Somerset-Pulaski County Convention and Visitors Bureau, South Kentucky RECC, Southern Middle School, The Center For Rural Development, The Highland’s Place, The Job Shop, UGN Auto, UPS Customer Center, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Walmart, and Evans, Harville, Atwell & Company CPAs.
“We had 14 groups that volunteered for the first time this year, and we were grateful to have them on board,” Wilson said. “We hope even more will join us at the ninth annual Clean Sweep in April 2017.”
To view photos from the PRIDE Clean Sweep of US 27, visit www.facebook.com/EasternKentuckyPRIDE.
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