March 20, 2009 (Midland) — Keep Texas Beautiful announced Keep Midland Beautiful as one of nine winners of the 2009 Governor’s Community Achievement Award (GCAA) for outstanding community improvement on Friday, March 20. The honor recognizes Keep Midland Beautiful with one of the most celebrated annual environmental and community improvement awards in Texas. The winners will share $1 million in landscape grants from the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). Keep Midland Beautiful will receive $155,000 for a landscaping project along a local state right-of-way.

Communities submitted materials to one of nine population categories and judges chose the winners based on their achievements in seven environmental and community improvement areas: community leadership and coordination, education, public awareness, litter prevention and cleanup, illegal dumping enforcement, beautification and property improvement, and solid waste management. Please refer to the Fact Sheet below.

The accomplishments for Keep Midland Beautiful for 2008 may be viewed here.

The GCAA program has recognized outstanding communities for 23 consecutive years, with TxDOT providing prize funds since 1985. Keep Midland Beautiful will receive its award on June 11, 2009 in Houston during the 42nd Annual Keep Texas Beautiful Conference.

Keep Midland Beautiful educates and engages Midlanders in litter prevention, beautification and waste management. Their vision is for Midland to be a city of environmentally committed, well-informed citizens whose efforts result in a clean and beautiful place to live. For more information on KMB, visit www.keepmidlandbeautiful.org.

Keep Texas Beautiful, a statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement nonprofit, strives to educate and engage Texans to take responsibility for improving their community environment. KTB and its more than 360 affiliates work with government, businesses, civic groups, and volunteers to ensure that every Texan has the opportunity to make Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation. For more information on programs and events, call 1-800-CLEAN-TX or visit www.ktb.org.

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2009 GCAA Fact Sheet

WHAT: The Governor’s Community Achievement Awards (GCAA) are presented to communities in nine population categories for exhibiting the best grassroots environmental programs in the state. The Awards have been sponsored by Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) since 1969 and funded by the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) since 1985. The winning communities share a $1 million grant provided by TxDOT designated for landscaping along state rights-of-way in their communities.

The GCAA program is one of the most prestigious environmental awards presented to communities in Texas. The awards recognize community excellence in the areas of:

• Community Leadership and Coordination
• Education
• Public Awareness
• Litter Prevention and Cleanup
• Illegal Dumping Enforcement
• Beautification and Property Improvement
• Solid Waste Management

Landscaping Prizes By Population

POPULATION CATEGORY	PRIZE
1. Up to 1,500	$60,000
2. 1,501-3,000	$65,000
3. 3,001-5,000	$70,000
4. 5,001-8,000	$75,000
5. 8,001-15,000	$85,000
6. 15,001-25,000	$95,000
7. 25,001-60,000	$130,000
8. 60,000-150,000	$155,000
9. 150,001+	$265,000
TOTAL	$1,000,000

WHEN: The Governor’s Community Achievement Award winners are announced annually in the spring. Recognition takes place each year during a ceremony at the Annual Keep Texas Beautiful Conference.

This year’s conference is June 8- 11, 2009 at the Marriott Westchase in Houston, TX. The winners will be recognized on the final day at a gala dinner.

MISSION: Keep Texas Beautiful's mission is to educate and engage Texans to take responsibility for improving their community environment.

ELIGIBILITY: The GCAA is open to all Texas communities. A program entered for competition may consist of more than one community, but one community may not have more than one GCAA entry. A community is defined as a region or regions with shared or adjoining boundaries whose beautification and litter abatement programs are administered by a common organization.