FALL 2024

e-Newsletter

Executive Director Report

It was wonderful to see our Keep Mississippi Beautiful Affiliates, friends, and partners in Ocean Springs for our KMB Affiliate Conference. Paige Riley/Keep Ocean Springs Beautiful team and our Coastal affiliates made everyone feel welcome. I know everyone will say that they gained valuable information to share with their local community.

Shout out to our newest Affiliate - Keep Yazoo County Beautiful. Supervisor David Peyton really rallied the troops for the first part of their certification training!

Thanks to Van Zyverden in Meridian, our state will be blooming beautiful blooms in early spring with their recent donation to our local affiliates, and thanks to our fearless truck driver, Jan Richardson.

I am so thankful for all of the amazing friends who continue to work to keep our state beautiful and at this time let me say“Have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving” and remember our friends in part of the US that are still hurting from the recent storms.

If you are traveling during the holidays – be safe and remember KEEP MISSISSIPPI CLEAN & GREEN.

Sarah

Affiliate News

Welcome Keep Yazoo County Beautiful

Our Keep Yazoo City affiliate is expanding! Under the supervision of Yazoo County supervisor David Payton, the affiliate will now be a county-wide program. Over 25 citizens attended the Keep America Beautiful Community Training session Oct. 10, 2024 at the B.S. Ricks Memorial Library, Yazoo City. Keep American Beautiful's Mallory Coffey led the training, and the meeting was facilitated by our Keep Mississippi Beautiful team. We are excited to welcome the expanded program to our affiliate network.

2024 Keep Mississippi Beautiful

State Conference Recap

Keep Mississippi Beautiful hosted our state conference November 4-5, 2024 in Ocean Springs at the Gulf Hill Hotel + Resort. KMB local affiliate representatives from across the state attended. Key speakers included Dr. Erica Walker, Brown University School of Public Health Noise Lab, director, and Dr. Cristina Nica, Alex Ballard, Mississippi Forestry Commission, Dr. Eddie Smith, Mississippi Extension, Jenny Lawson, Keep America Beautiful CEO and President, and Jason Smith, Regional Director, Keep American Beautiful. We thank our affiliates and MDOT Litter Prevention Coordinators for attending. Additionally, we thank our sponsor MVP Sonic, and our coastal affiliates, Keep Harrison County Beautiful, Keep Ocean Springs Beautiful, Ocean Springs Rotary, Historic Ocean Springs Association, Keep Pearl River County Beautiful and Gulf Hills for conference and activities support.

In anticipation of our country's 250th birthday, on July 4, 2026, Keep Mississippi Beautiful will launch our KMB America250 Tree Planting Across Mississippi initiative, in collaboration with our affiliate communities. Alex Ballard provided a tree planting tutorial and planted Tree #1 at the Gulf Hills Hotel and Resort. The resort sponsored a reception at the event. Our goal is to have 250 trees planted by 2026. WLOX Story: KMB America250 Tree Planting

Brown University School of Public Health Noise Lab's Dr. Erica Walker and Dr. Cristina Nica presented information about their illegal dumping research project.

Tree planting tutorial by Alex Ballard, MS Forestry Commission.

MVP Sonic representatives from Ocean Springs announced their affiliate partnership. They sponsored Sonic prizes and a delicious cherry limeade break.

Keep America Beautiful 2025 Conference

Together is Beautiful: Keep America Beautiful National Conference 2025

As we gather in Washington, D.C., in February 2025 (February 10-13 at the Washington Hilton, 1919 Connecticut Ave. NW) for our national conference, our theme is: Together is Beautiful.

Hotel Information & Costs:

CONFERENCE HOTEL BOOKING LINK
Rate is $192/night + 15.95% tax (with early and late checkout options available for guests)

Registration & Meals:

Will begin in early December on Whova
Registration Cost (Early Bird through 01/09/2025) $675
Early Bird Registration is for Affiliates and Affiliate Board Members
After 01/09/2025, Registration Cost - $725
Registration Cost for Non-Affiliates - $750 (Early Bird through 01/09/2025)
After 01/09/2025 Registration Cost - $800
Meals Included in Registration
Opening Reception (Monday, February 10)
Continental Breakfast (Tuesday, February 11)
Lunch (Tuesday, February 11)
Awards Banquet (Wednesday, February 12)
Continental Breakfast (Thursday, February 13)

Affiliate-MDOT Learning Sessions

Keep Mississippi Beautiful is hosting lunch-and-learn sessions in each MDOT transportation district, to foster collaboration between our affiliates and the MDOT litter prevention coordinators. We are excited about the connections being made across the state to help educate and make impactful gains on litter prevention.

Mississippi's Great American Cleanup Kickoff: 2025 Applications

Affiliates are invited to develop a project to submit to KMB for the 2025 KMB State Great American Cleanup Kickoff. If you want to discuss a potential project, please call our office and schedule an appointment! Applications are due January 13.

Important Dates

January 13, 2025 State Great American Cleanup Kickoff Proposals Due to Keep MS Beautiful

February 10-13, 2025 KAB National Conference, Washington D.C.

March 3, 2025, KMB Award Applications Due. Each affiliate should submit at least one award application

April 22, 2025, Keep Mississippi Beautiful Awards Luncheon, Country Club of Jackson

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