Keep the Midlands Beautiful: 3rd Annual Gala for a Greener Midlands another success!

COLUMBIA, SC – The Gala for a Greener Midlands was held December 12, 2014, during the evening the Midlands Green Awards were presented and we celebrated the silver Anniversary, 25 years of Keep the Midlands Beautiful. The event was held at the Holiday Inn and Suites in West Columbia as it is the only LEED certified green hotel in South Carolina.

The Midlands Green Awards are nominated by citizens in the Midlands that live into the mission of Keep the Midlands Beautiful and for their exceptional work in making the Midlands a cleaner, greener, more beautiful community. Our winners were selected by the Keep the Midlands Beautiful Executive Committee.

The Green Small Business Award was given to Dutch Fork Animal Hospital, for the recycling efforts being made by the practice. They recycle cardboard, paper, plastics, aluminum pet food cans, etc. They are doing their part to reduce their footprint in the community.

The Green Non-Profit Award was given to the Congaree Riverkeeper, an organization dedicated to protecting and improving water quality, wildlife habitat, and recreation on the Congaree, Lower Saluda and Lower Broad Rivers through advocacy, education, and enforcement of environmental laws.

The Green Neighborhood/Community Group Award was given to the Tree of Life Congregation they created and maintain a large rain garden, with a 68-foot boardwalk, that absorbs pollutants from storm water on their property, thus reducing pollution that enter nearby Gills Creek Watershed. They also encourage congregation members to recycle and they participated in helping build the first local green Habitat for Humanity

The Green Large Business Award was given to Hood Construction created a program called the Hood Recycling Initiative, which aims to track and divert construction debris away from landfills-while utilizing waste for as many creative recycling applications as possible. The program was made fully operational by May 2014, and not only applies to projects expected to achieve LEED Certification, but incorporates these requirements on each and every construction job.

The Green Event Award was given to Greek Festival, Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in the City of Columbia decided they wanted to work towards “greening” their Greek Festival. For the 27th annual Greek Festival in 2013 they recycled 2 tons of materials. That was great, but they wanted to build on this success. For the 28th annual Greek Festival they had over 30 volunteers and 195 hours of physical labor and environmental education. The result was 3 tons of recycled material. This a fifty percent improvement from the year before.

The Green Elected Official Award was given to Senator Katrina Shealy (R-Lexington) State Senator Katrina Shealy is a lifelong conservative leader and business manager with a proven record of creating jobs, managing businesses, and promoting good government in South Carolina. . As the Vice President of Production for Tower Street Insurance Advisors in Columbia, overseeing the Forestry and Hunting Division, Senator Shealy helps other job-creating individuals and businesses overcome government red-tape daily. Her experience and expertise with our state’s natural resources has led to her active involvement with the South Carolina Forestry Association. Working hard to ensure future generations enjoy a better quality of life than we do, Senator Shealy co-chairs the Green Schools Caucus. She has sponsored two Green Apples Days of Service in her district – planting a rain garden at Gilbert Primary School and building a green house from 2-liter bottles at Carolina Springs Elementary School. She has fought to keep local control of waste management and stop the in-flow of waste from other states. For her work, the South Carolina Wildlife Federation awarded her as the Legislative Conservationist of the Year in 2014, and the Saluda River Trust Unlimited awarded her as the Conservationist of the Year in 2013. Senator Shealy is working hard to find solutions to SC litter issues.

The Green Law Enforcement Officer of the Year was given to Sheriff Leon Lott of the Richland County Sheriff Department – Sheriff Lott established the Community Action Team shortly after his election to office. The  team is a group of specialized, highly trained officers who use community oriented policing to solve law enforcement problems that arise in the various communities of Richland County. However, the C.A.T. program is far more than a mere extension of law enforcement. Sheriff Lott understands that law enforcement cannot work alone, that deputies must partner with other organizations to make changes in the community. KMB has a strong relationship with Richland County Sheriff Deputies because Sheriff Lott knows that education, litter prevention, community caretaking and graffiti abatement, lead to community pride. Community pride can lead to lowered crime rates, which is a core mission of law enforcement. Sheriff Lott has inspired his deputies to have a strong partnership with KMB.

The Green Sustainability Leadership Award was given to Anna Lange in only three short years as the Sustainability Director for Richland County she has helped her county establish sustainability goals and is already seeing results. Ms. Lange created a county recycling team to support recycling education and marketing in county buildings, organized Green Apple Day of Service events in 10 Richland County Schools to support beautification, gardens, rain barrels, and energy reduction on campuses. She also passed a green building policy requiring new County building to meet the ENERGY star standard for construction. These are just a few examples of all the great things she does for the Midlands.

Finally, the Keep the Midland Beautiful Board of Directors recognized Keep the Midlands Beautiful Partner/Volunteer of the Year is Graham Taylor; City of Columbia Parks and Recreation, for his can do mentality. He has been a wealth of knowledge and physical help to KMB. Graham and his team are always there to help find locations to accommodate our KMB volunteers. Most of the time this is done with little to no time to plan. He is a great asset to the Midlands and to KMB. We are most thankful to Director Caton and the Parks and Rec team for their assistance.