Exceptional Merit Awards

Keep Oklahoma Beautiful

	Exceptional Merit Awards "The judges felt these entries deserved special recognition...." Environmental Improvement Newkirk Junior Main Street Newkirk Junior Main Street strives to keep their downtown litter-free throughout the year, but last spring, they decided it was time for Operation Clean Sweep. In Newkirk, it was a matter of public pride, and Junior Main Streeters carried the message. They invited civic groups, a high school group, and elementary classes to join them. Youngsters paired with city officials and other adults, and from April 8th to April 16th, 123 citizens volunteered, 224 bags of trash were picked up, and Newkirk got a fresh, clean face. In the process, Newkirk Junior Main Streeters gained experience in leadership, public speaking, and organization on a grand scale. For creating a new generation of environmentalists and for reviving an older generation, NEWKIRK JUNIOR MAIN STREET IS GREAT NEWS FOR OKLAHOMA’S ENVIRONMENT! Education and Promotion Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers ball club is the clean-up batter in Tulsa’s line-up. On Earth Day this year, the Drillers offered free admission to anyone who participated in Keep Tulsa Beautiful activities, and more than 20,000 tickets were given to clean-up volunteers. Partnered with Weyerhaeuser, the Drillers sponsored “Grow your own bat” night, when more than 5,000 ash seedlings were distributed after a game. Drillers Stadium was the host site for a semi-annual training party for Tulsa’s M.E.T. recycling centers. The Drillers hosted the kickoff for this season’s Ozone Alert campaign in Tulsa. The ball club has also agreed to host a sign-up for the City of Tulsa’s curbside recycling program at five different home games this season. THE TULSA DRILLERS HAVE HIT A GOOD NEWS HOME RUN FOR OKLAHOMA’S ENVIRONMENT! Education and Promotion OEMA The primary purpose of the Oklahoma Environmental Management Authority has been to operate the Canadian County Landfill, but over the past seven or eight years, OEMA has taken on the daunting responsibility of educating all of their seven member communities. OEMA sponsored demonstrations of worm composting for county schools and for a community gardening project at the Chisholm Trail in Yukon. They provided recycled products for the celebration of America Recycles Day in Yukon and Piedmont. For the past eight years, they have promoted, judged, and provided prizes for local entrants to the Trash Poster Contest. The authority assists with local volunteer recycling collections--including paper and phone books, providing containers as well as education about what to put in them. Through recruitment of area schools, the authority is encouraging students to become life-long recyclers. In Canadian County, the ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY IS GOOD NEWS FOR OKLAHOMA’S ENVIRONMENT! Education and Promotion Oklahoma City Beautiful Oklahoma City Beautiful believes in positive reinforcement. Each month, they reward individuals and businesses for their beautification efforts in the city, especially those areas that are most in need of improvement. Each winner receives an attractive wooden sign, placed in front of the home or business, and there it remains for the entire month, encouraging others to beautify their property also. Plus, OKC Beautiful has involved area schools by implementing the School Beautiful program. Program volunteers produced an interactive skit, which they perform at school assemblies. Watching the skit, students boo when “Larry the Litterbug” throws trash onto “Darlin’Daisy.” The trash wilts Daisy, and the students cheer when Larry promises to stop littering. The children themselves promise not to litter and to spread the message to others. Finally, students raise funds for beautifying their own schools. KEEPING OKLAHOMA CITY BEAUTIFUL IS DEFINITELY GOOD NEWS FOR OKLAHOMA’S ENVIRONMENT! Education and Promotion Great Plains Resource Conservation & Development Association The Great Plains Resource Conservation & Development Association is dedicated to environmental education in Oklahoma. They coordinate Oklahoma’s efforts in the National Tree Trust “Growing Together’ program--delivering tree seeds, soil and educational materials to schools--and the Community Trees program--providing free trees for planting in parks, recreation areas, schools, and outdoor classrooms. Great Plains RC&D has produced several successful teacher workshops and conferences, has helped schools obtain grants and other funds for the creation of outdoor classrooms and educational walking trails, and has created nine Enviroscapes for teachers’ use to show sources and prevention of non-point source pollution in different landscapes. Plus, Great Plains RC&D was the original founding member of the Oklahoma Envirothon Committee. Envirothon is a competition among high school natural resources teams, with field-based questions in forestry, soils, aquatics, and wildlife. High school participation in Envirothon grew five times in one year, thanks to the perseverance of Great Plains RC&D. GREAT PLAINS RC&D ASSOCIATION IS DEVELOPING GOOD NEWS FOR OKLAHOMA’S ENVIRONMENT! Beautification and Landscaping Keith, Mary & Sabrina HUITT At the east end of downtown Wynnewood, visitors and residents used to be greeted by a dark and neglected Flag Plaza which had become overgrown with weeds. Keith Huitt and his family decided that this was not a fitting tribute to the veterans honored there, and they adopted the Flag Plaza as their own personal project. The Huitts removed and repaired benches in the Flag Plaza. They replaced the tattered flags and worked with the city to repair the Plaza lighting, so the flags would no longer be flying in the dark. Experienced gardeners themselves, the Huitts weeded and replanted the Plaza with flowers, shrubs, and grasses appropriate for the area. With the initial planting completed, the Huitts continued to donate their time to mow, weed, and maintain the Flag Plaza. The Flag Plaza is now a source of pride and inspiration for the residents of Wynnewood. It is a focal point for Christmas decorations, and high school students even use the area as a backdrop for their Christmas Ball photos. KEITH HUITT AND HIS FAMILY ARE GROWING GOOD NEWS FOR WYNNEWOOD’S ENVIRONMENT! Environmental Improvement Richard Chapman Everyone who knows Richard Chapman says the one word to describe him would have to be positive. This positive attitude has helped him bring public sector and non-profit organizations together to promote the good environmental programs in our state. He brought the Weyerhaeuser “Excellence in Recycling” Awards Program to Oklahoma, and the awards ceremony he developed has been used as a model in other states. Perhaps most importantly, Chapman has been an integral part of local efforts in Idabel to clean-up, promote, and maintain Kimbro Plaza as a public-friendly focal point for the city. His positive attitude and enthusiasm were key in rounding up volunteers to clean the plaza, and he also put his hands in the dirt when it was time to plant flowers and shrubs. He developed the Chalk Challenge, an annual event for adults and children to express their artistic skills in chalk on the Kimbro sidewalks. RICHARD CHAPMAN IS POSITIVELY GOOD NEWS FOR OKLAHOMA’S ENVIRONMENT! See other award winners:
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