Though some of their projects for this year may have been cut short or reshuffled, members of Keep Gilmer Beautiful are happy to have recently received a commendation from statewide organization Keep Georgia Beautiful and Gov. Brian Kemp.
The local community beautification group is among 63 Keep Georgia Beautiful affiliates that received the 2019-2020 Governors Circle Award.
Issued by Kemp’s office, the commendation recognizes Keep Georgia Beautiful affiliates that achieved “exemplary performance in litter reduction, waste minimization and community greening” while participating in “efforts to engage Georgians in taking greater responsibility for their community environments” from July 2019-June 2020.
“We received the award along with several other Georgia organizations because we are in good standing and we’ve continued our efforts this year, even in a pandemic,” said Jay Zipperman, Keep Gilmer Beautiful advisory board chairman.
“The people in Gilmer County are the real winners (including) all of the Adopt-a-Road people who’ve adopted a road to keep clean and who take their jobs seriously,” added advisory board member Karen Vitelli.
Zipperman touched on some of Keep Gilmer Beautiful’s accomplishments during the yearlong period, which saw the local group become a certified affiliate of both Keep Georgia Beautiful and its nationwide parent nonprofit, Keep America Beautiful.
“We had a very successful e-waste/electronics recycling event. We had a very successful tire amnesty program with 2,362 tires recycled. We participated in several outreach events including collecting recyclables at the (2019) Apple Arts Festival. We added eight adoptees for our Adopt-a-Road program. Our Adopt-a-Road volunteers were asked to postpone litter cleanups, but more than 19 still, on their own, picked up more than 175 bags of garbage on our roadways,” he noted. “We also designed and created a new website and Keep Gilmer Beautiful Facebook and Instagram social media (accounts) to share our mission.”
During the award consideration period, the group launched a recycle bin loaner program, through which up to 15 collapsible recycling bins can be loaned out to collect recyclables at outdoor events and festivals, Zipperman noted. Keep Gilmer Beautiful also partnered with the City of Ellijay to have three recycling containers for plastic bottles and aluminum cans installed downtown.
Earlier this year, a flag recycling box was put in at the county commissioners office, Vitelli noted. Tattered American flags dropped off there are later taken to the local American Legion post, where they are officially retired.
With Gilmer County fast becoming a destination for both tourists and permanent residents, Vitelli noted the increased importance of recycling and responsible trash disposal in local communities.
“With the influx of so many more people moving here, it will increase our trash not only on the streets, but also in our rivers,” she said. “I believe that many people have come here from communities where they had curbside recycling in their neighborhoods. We want to let them know we are here if they want to join the team.”
Zipperman said Keep Gilmer Beautiful members hope to restart their annual community cleanup efforts next year.
“We are planning a river cleanup as part of our 2021 Earth Day events in April. There will also be neighborhood, school and road litter cleanups,” he added.
The Keep Gilmer Beautiful Advisory Committee meets the fourth Friday of each month at 10 a.m. Meetings are held online via the Zoom app. Zipperman can be contacted at 706-276-2595 to request an email invitation to the virtual meeting.