Photo: [Pictured left to right: Christopher Nunn, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs; Julie Barwig, Executive Director of Keep Smyrna Beautiful and Director of Environmental Services for the City of Smyrna; and Natalie Johnston-Russell, Executive Director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation at the Georgia State Capitol on February 6, 2025.]

Keep Smyrna Beautiful submitted the following news release about its recent achievement of a 2024 Governor’s Circle Award:

Keep Smyrna Beautiful recently received a 2024 Governor’s Circle Award for its outstanding achievements in community beautification and environmental sustainability. The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation (KGBF) presented the award in recognition of exemplary performance in litter reduction, waste minimization, and community greening.

To qualify for the Governor’s Circle Award, affiliates must be certified and in good standing with Keep America Beautiful (KAB), the national nonprofit that oversees state and local programming. Additionally, the affiliate must be an active member of the KGBF network. Certified KAB affiliates are required to effect meaningful, positive, and lasting change by directly addressing community needs in the areas of litter prevention, recycling, waste reduction, and beautification.

“We’re committed to creating clean, green, and beautiful communities across Georgia,” said Natalie Johnston-Russell, executive director of the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation. “This year’s award recipients have gone above and beyond to make that vision a reality, and we’re proud to celebrate their incredible efforts.”

In 2024, more than 2,000 Keep Smyrna Beautiful volunteers picked up 31,078 pounds of litter from Smyrna roadways, diverted 37,020 pounds of paper from landfills through community events, and established the city’s first Pollinator Pocket garden, among many other accomplishments. Also in 2024, KSB reached 2,467 people with in-person education, awarded $5,000 in beautification grants to six Smyrna schools, and supported the Smyrna Recycling Center in processing more than 1.2 million pounds of material.

“Keep Smyrna Beautiful is honored to receive this award on behalf of the dedicated volunteers and supporters who make our mission possible,” said Julie Barwig, executive director of Keep Smyrna Beautiful and director of environmental services for the City of Smyrna. “We take immense pride in being part of a community where residents are deeply committed to protecting our environment—whether through cleaning up litter, building pollinator habitats, or educating the public.”

About Keep Smyrna Beautiful

Keep Smyrna Beautiful’s mission is to inspire our community to be clean, green, and beautiful. Our vision is a community where every person is a responsible steward of the environment. KSB is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and a local affiliate of both Keep America Beautiful and the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation. To learn more about our work in the community, visit keepsmyrnabeautiful.com.

About the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation

The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation has a 47-year history of doing the little things that make a big difference in Georgia’s communities. Established in 1978, we aim to educate and inspire Georgians to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environments. The Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation supports more than 70 local affiliates across the state, and its programs represent 80% of Georgia’s population. We also strive to engage new communities and individuals in our efforts to end littering, promote recycling and waste reduction, and beautify communities. For more information, visit www.kgbf.org and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.