Spotlight on Buckingham County
We want to take a few minutes to shine the spotlight on some amazing volunteers. It’s wonderful to meet people who are concerned enough about litter to do the work needed to remove litter from the roads and landscape. Some people have come up with different ways to motivate others, and here’s one story we want to share with you.
The Buckingham County Anti-Litter Task Force truly is a force to be reckoned with! They host semi-annual cleanups that have a purpose and a prize – cash prizes actually! They challenged groups and individuals to sign up to compete for the highest number of bags of trash collected between October 22nd and November 12th. The reward was $300 for first place, $200 for second place, and $100 for third place.
Volunteers with a conscience for the environment and a hatred for litter, walked along the roads and landscape in their communities to pick up litter. Lots of litter.
There were 11 teams who registered to compete for the prize money totaling 112 people. A Buckingham record 275 bags of trash were collected along with over 30 automobile tires. The tires and bags of litter were picked up by VDOT, for which the Anti-Litter Task Force was grateful.
The awards ceremony was held December 3rd at a Christmas Bazaar at the Historic Village at Lee Wayside. They celebrated that they have picked up 960 bags of litter since 2020. “This was the most successful anti-litter cleanup campaign yet since the effort was brought back in 2020,” said Task Force Committee Chairman and District Four Supervisor Jordan Miles. He also expressed appreciation for the hardworking volunteers, which included Keep Virginia’s own Roger Eitelman, Programs Coordinator.
The first-place prize went to St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary, with 115 bags of litter and numerous tires. The group had about 50 brothers who participated in the cleanup.
Winners of the second-place prize went to Dominion Energy, who were first-time participants in this event. They cleaned up 55 bags of litter and 30 automobile tires.
Third place went to the Buckingham County Democratic Committee with 12 participants who collected 32 bags of trash.
Some of the other teams and individuals who participated were: Hampden Sydney College had 19 students who collected 13 bags. Team 602 collected 22 bags, plus a mattress, headboard, box spring, and a baby walker. Boxley Corp. employees collected 11 bags. Buckingham Branch Railroad staff collected 8 bags. Cindy Cook, who has been a participant since the first year, also picked up 8 bags. Shawn Miller, a two-time winner in the past, collected 5 bags. And Liz Jones collected 2 bags of trash in addition to leading the operation of the cleanup!
Senator Mark Warner’s Outreach Representative, Alexis Bowles-Fryar, came to the awards ceremony and presented a letter from the senator congratulating the Task Force and all the participants on a job well done.
Cameron Gilliam, Supervisor of District Two, said, “The strong spirit of these volunteers is inspiring. Their efforts have resulted in a more attractive community.”