See Who Got Caught!

When we started Keep Virginia Beautiful sixty years ago, one of our most enjoyable moments was handing out awards. We recognized Virginians for being the living embodiment of our core mission of litter prevention and beautification.  Much has changed since then, and we’ve added recycling, waste reduction, and most importantly, education.  A few years ago, we were very fortunate to be able to start our Thirty in 30 Program, awarding grants to provide seed money for groups and organizations who wanted to do their part.  It’s awesome, it’s fun, and we very much enjoy it.  It’s an honor for us.  But it’s not exactly a Keep Virginia Beautiful Award.

In recognition of our Sixtieth Anniversary, we decided to bring the Keep Virginia Beautiful Awards back to life, and in the age of the internet, found a creative way to do that.  We began our newest program, Get Caught in a Beautiful Act.  For the past year, folks around the Commonwealth have visited KVB60 to upload photos and videos of their groups and organizations doing a bit of good for Virginia.  We received submissions from people cleaning a neighborhood, beautifying communities, building outdoor classrooms, and more.  One of our first submissions was from a bright young lady named Savannah McCarthy Morgan, who created a video encouraging every school in Virginia to recycle.  If every school did it, it would establish a great standard, and think of how much less trash we would create!  She’s kind of our hero.

So without further ado, here are our 2013 Keep Virginia Beautiful Award Winners!
(And remember, we’re already getting submissions for 2014.  Don’t be late to the Beautiful Act Party!)

Town/City: City of Bristol, Bristol’s Watch Out For Litter Crew Fellowship
City of Manassas, Week of Hope
Business: Moseley Architects, Cleaning up the Streets of Scott’s Addition
Capital One, George Mason Elementary Outdoor Classroom
School: Christchurch School, Forming a Bucket Brigade to plant oysters in their Rappahannock River Oyster Farm
Group/Organization: Navigators USA Chapter 22, Celebrating Clean the Bay Day at Deer Park in Newport News
James River Advisory Council, James River Clean-Up
Individual/Family: The Neher Family, Celebrating Six years of James River Clean-Up
Savannah McCarthy Morgan, Savannah Wants Virginia Schools to Recycle Video