(IRVING, TEXAS)— The annual Mayor and Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) Awards ceremony was held on August 2 in the First Baptist Church of Irving Fellowship Hall.  Guests were treated to the beautiful sound of harp music as they entered the room, provided by the talented Becky Scherschell.  Volunteers Elouise McMillian, Chandler Ude, Nancy Medina and Lisa Ross greeted and signed in the attendees.  Spirit Grille catered the meal, which guests enjoyed while seated at tables with centerpieces designed and created by Nancy Ard, using all recyclable materials.  T.J. Friedel provided photography for the event.

Boy Scout Troop 508 began the ceremony by presenting the flag and leading the group in the Pledge of Allegiance.  Youth Pastor Brian Bunch of CHRIST Church delivered the invocation, after which KIB Treasurer Jim Scrivner provided a brief overview of activities throughout the year and recognized the City of Irving’s Urban Forestry Team for their first place Keep Texas Beautiful State Award in the Government category. KIB was acknowledged for achieving the President’s Circle Award from Keep America Beautiful, and the Gold Star and Sustained Excellence Awards from Keep Texas Beautiful.

Cathy Whiteman, returning as emcee for the tenth consecutive year, was joined on stage by Honorary Chair Mayor Rick Stopfer for the presentation of the following awards:

Youth Leadership Award:  MacArthur High School Student Council

Educator Award:  Victor Galanis, Jack Singley Academy

Educator Award:  James Duran, Dallas College – North Lake Campus

Faith Group Award:  Hackberry Creek Church

Business and Industry Award:  La Cima Club

Civic Organization:  Dallas Hispanic Chamber of Commerce

Nonprofit Organization:  Brighter Tomorrows

Government Award: City of Irving Department of Arts and Culture

Civil Servant Award: Assistant Police Chief Brian Redburn

KIB Hometown Award: Pat Davenport

KIB Hometown Award:  Phil Riddle 

“After holding last year’s event virtually, it was great to be able to gather in person this year,” said KIB Board President Scott Wilson. “We are so grateful for our volunteers and friends of KIB. This is always one of our favorite events because we have the opportunity to thank them for all they do.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, KIB reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. For more information on volunteering with KIB or making an activity a “green event,” visit CityofIrving.org/284/Keep-Irving-Beautiful or call (972) 721-2175.

(IRVING, TEXAS)— Keep Irving Beautiful partnered with Nexstar Media Group, Inc., America’s largest local television company, and the company’s Dallas television station, KDAF-TV (CW33) to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the founding of the company with an event called “Founder’s Day of Caring.” On Thursday, June 17^th, the Irving-based company held a day of service, with 92 volunteers gathering at T.W. Richardson Grove Park along the northern Campion Trails to conduct a cleanup.

CW33 interviewed participants and featured them on their show “Morning After.”  Nexstar Chairman and CEO Perry Sook was there to thank the employee volunteers for their service.  Mr. Sook established Founder’s Day of Caring in 2016, to enable the company’s employees to “make a personal commitment to make the community a better place for everyone.”  Held during the third week of June, employees in each of Nexstar’s 116 markets across the country are given paid time off on Founder’s Day to work with a local nonprofit or public service agency.

Results of the June 17^th cleanup were a combined 230 volunteer hours, 200 pounds of trash, and 35 pounds of recyclables collected.  A canned food drive was also part of the event, with volunteers donating 107 pounds of food to a local Irving food pantry.

“Irving is fortunate to have a vibrant, caring corporate community that places a high value on giving back,” said KIB Board member Karen Harmon. “We had a great day here with Nexstar and CW33, and it was a pleasure to be a part of their Founder’s Day event.  Not only did they make a positive impact on the environment by keeping litter from reaching the Elm Fork of the Trinity River, they also helped support a local food pantry with their donations.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. For more information on volunteering with KIB or making an activity a “green event,” visit CityofIrving.org/KIB or call (972) 721-2175.

Drug Enforcement Administration Dallas Office Employees Volunteer with Keep Irving Beautiful

Group Conducts Cleanup at Bird’s Fort Trail Park

(IRVING, TEXAS)— The Dallas office of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently partnered with Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) for a service project at Bird’s Fort Trail Park, 5756 Riverside Dr. Ten employee volunteers gathered at the park, which is part of Irving’s Campion Trail, on April 20.  After receiving their cleanup supplies and a safety briefing, pairs were sent out to collect litter, working mainly along the tree line bordering the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.

After the cleanup and volunteers placed the bags at a central location to weigh and record their results.  During their combined 27.5 hours of service, they collected a total of 62 pounds of litter and 21 pounds of recyclables.

“We had a great day at the park,” said KIB board member Jim Scrivner.  “We are happy to welcome groups that have a shared interest and common goal of keeping litter from reaching this important waterway. This event with the DEA was a long time in the making, as the group originally scheduled a cleanup in 2019 that was canceled due to flooding, then the COVID-19 pandemic. The enthusiasm and great volunteer spirit that the Dallas DEA employees showed made it worth the wait, and we hope to partner with them again.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. For more information on volunteering with KIB or making an activity a “green event,” visit CityofIrving.org/KIB or call (972) 721-2175.

Keep Irving Beautiful Recognized as Gold Star Affiliate by Keep Texas Beautiful
70 Texas Communities Honored for their Exceptional Community Improvement Efforts

IRVING, TEXAS - Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB), a statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement nonprofit organization, recently named Keep Irving Beautiful (KIB) a Gold Star Affiliate, a designation granted to 70 affiliates of KTB’s nearly 300 affiliates. Gold Star Affliate is the highest membership recognition any community affiliate can achieve.

In 2004, the organization introduced the concept of Gold Star recognition to reward those communities who sought to go above and beyond the established requirements. To remain in good standing with KTB, community affiliates must submit a report, pay dues, attend training and participate in a KTB-endorsed activity annually. 

To achieve Gold Star status, affiliates must share information about their mission and goals, answer questions related to their economic development and diversity and inclusion practices, participate in the Beautify Texas Awards or Governor’s Community Achievement Awards programs, and provide a letter of support from their community.  KTB will formally recognize Gold Star communities during its 54th Annual Conference in June.

“Our affiliates are the backbone of our organization. We are proud to honor those going above and beyond to keep their communities clean and beautiful,” says Suzanne Kho, Executive Director of Keep Texas Beautiful. “Our Gold Star Affiliates are educating and engaging community members, actively recruiting and managing volunteers, hosting cleanup and beautification events throughout their community and so much more.”

In 2020, KTB affiliates engaged 20,917 volunteers who contributed 37,857 hours to collect 1 million pounds of waste and recyclables from Texas roadways, trails, and waterways. Irvingsuccessfully implemented programs to clean up litter, reduce and recycle waste, educate local residents, as well as beautify and enhance the local community.

“On behalf of the entire Keep Irving Beautiful Board of Directors, I would like to thank Keep Texas Beautiful for this honor,” said KIB Board President Scott Wilson. “This past year was full of challenges, but we exceeded our expectations thanks in part to having such strong leadership at the state level in Keep Texas Beautiful.  We would also like to thank our outstanding volunteers and sponsors for everything they do to keep our organization achieve the highest level.”

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About Keep Irving Beautiful

Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. For more information on volunteering with KIB or making an activity a “green event,” visit CityofIrving.org/KIB or call (972) 721-2175.

About Keep Texas Beautiful
Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) is a non-profit organization dedicated to making Texas the best place to live, work, and play by deploying resources for community improvement projects, clean-ups, and youth engagement efforts across the state. Through our Keep Texas Recycling program, we provide assistance and education to support recycling in rural and underserved communities.

Everything we do is focused on mobilizing volunteers to take action by providing them with tools, resources, and training. Our fieldwork includes research on best practices for litter reduction along with the development of community programs to prevent the flow of litter to the Gulf.

Founded in 1967, Keep Texas Beautiful’s work is driven by its network of nearly 300 affiliate member communities, volunteers, and supporters that reach 17 million Texans annually. For more information and to find your closest affiliate, visit www.ktb.org. Follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

KIB Hosts Hybrid ‘Don’t mess with Texas Trash-Off’ Cleanup

104 Volunteers Participate in Person and Virtually

Trinity View Park was the site for Keep Irving Beautiful’s (KIB) annual spring cleanup event, the Don’t mess with Texas Trash-Off, part of the state’s signature event for the national Great American Cleanup initiative. On April 10, volunteers arrived early, according to the time they had chosen when they pre-registered. While the Trash-Off usually draws several hundred volunteers, this event was limited to the first 100 who signed up in order to observe social distancing guidelines. Sign-ins were staggered every 15 minutes, and after picking up supplies and receiving safety instructions, volunteers set out in small groups to collect litter and prevent it from reaching the Elm Fork of the Trinity River.

While these volunteers were picking up litter at Trinity View, other groups were conducting their own cleanups in areas like Parkside Commons and Northwest, T.W. Richardson Grove, Spring Hills and Centennial Parks. These ‘virtual volunteers’ posted pictures to social media (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) and reported their total volunteers, hours and amounts collected. By including the hashtag #IrvingTrashOff, their posts were monitored by KIB staff and their efforts were included in the grand total.

Combing the efforts of the Trinity View Park group and those who worked throughout the city, the final results included, 101 volunteers, 384 volunteer hours, 1,435 pounds of trash and 325 pounds of recyclables collected.

Several city departments contributed to the success of the event, including Parks and Recreation and Solid Waste Services for providing roll-off containers and weighing the trash and recyclables collected. The Communications Department provided an ICTN crew to interview volunteers and capture the action of the day.

Trinity View volunteers were treated to box lunches, generously donated by the Chick-fil-A Las Colinas store. Special thanks to the Young Men’s Service League Irving Hawks from Cistercian Academy and their mothers for their support.

It has become tradition to include a canned food drive as part of this event. Crisis Ministries is a 100% volunteer organization serving Irving for more than 25 years. Donations directly support the work they do each day. This year, KIB volunteers donated 280 pounds of food.

“KIB has been looking forward to being able to gather together for an event like this,” said KIB Board President Scott Wilson. “While KIB had to limit the volunteer numbers this year, the enthusiasm was the same as it always is. On behalf of the entire KIB board and staff, we want to thank everyone who had a part in this event, whether it was at Trinity View, or at cleanups in other locations.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating the community about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification to help preserve the health and promote the social and economic prosperity of the city. As an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, Keep Irving Beautiful reaches out to all sectors of the community, including government, businesses, churches, as well as cultural, educational, neighborhood and civic organizations. For more information on volunteering with KIB or making an activity a “green event,” visit CityofIrving.org/KIB or call (972) 721-2175.