WASHINGTON (December 7, 2009) – Doreen Richardson of Keep Midland Beautiful was honored Thursday with the Professional Leadership Award at this year’s annual Keep America Beautiful National Conference.

The Professional Leadership Award is Keep America Beautiful’s highest professional honor and is given annually to Keep America Beautiful affiliate directors who have built and sustained a local or state program with outstanding success. Through their contributions to the national network of affiliates, those honored have furthered the goals of Keep America Beautiful by developing training initiatives, establishing model programs, and fostering long-term partnerships between the public and private sectors.

“Keep America Beautiful is proud to honor Doreen’s leadership with our highest award,” said Matthew McKenna, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful, Inc. “Her dedication to bettering the environment while improving her community makes her an invaluable asset to this organization.”

Under Richardson’s leadership as executive director, Keep Midland Beautiful has successfully formed sustainable partnerships with numerous government entities and businesses, including the Midland Independent School District, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Texas Department of Transportation, Chevron, HEB, Mental Health Mental Retardation, the Chamber of Commerce and more than 145 local churches and civic organizations.

At the statewide level, Richardson was elected to serve as the affiliate representative on the Keep Texas Beautiful board of directors for two years. In this role, she led the Recognition Task Force and served on various committees, including communications, awards, conference and training.

“Keep Midland Beautiful feels blessed to have Doreen as executive director,” said Sharla Hotchkiss, Keep Texas Beautiful and Keep Midland Beautiful board member. “She loves new ideas and is enthusiastic about our mission.”

Richardson also serves as the environmental chair for City Council PTA as well as Comunidad in Action, a group working to promote cultural awareness, fellowship and education throughout the community. She is a member of the Texas Resource Conservation and Development Council and the Advisory Council for the Permian Basin Council of Governments.

For a complete list of all Keep America Beautiful 2009 award winners from the 56th national conference and additional information about the awards program, please visit Keep America Beautiful’s website at www.kab.org.