Friday, 1 Dec 2000
SOMERSET, Ky.
Volunteers load up trash.
One of the things I really like about working for PRIDE is being able to see evidence of what we have accomplished. It is exhilarating to drive by a former dumpsite and see grass growing, or a school and see kids studying in an outdoor classroom funded by PRIDE. But one of our most important accomplishments isn’t as easily measured — the spirit of volunteerism. I spoke with one of our most dedicated volunteers this morning; he was excited about
the activities he already has planned for the PRIDE 2001 spring clean up (scheduled for late next April!). More important, his excitement is contagious.
PRIDE couldn’t function without volunteers, and some of our most important volunteers are the members of the executive committee of our board of directors. These dedicated people are:
- Tony Turner, our chairman, news director for WYMT, a regional television station
- Bob Mitchell, our vice chairman, the district administrator for Rep. Hal Rogers
- Jean Dorton, our secretary, the director of the Rural Community College Initiative at Prestonsburg Community College
- Maurice Moore, our treasurer, the solid waste coordinator for Pulaski County
- Hugh Archer, the commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Natural Resources
- A.L. Sinclair, a forest ranger/technician for the Kentucky Division of Forestry
- Richard Thomas, principal assistant to James Bickford, secretary of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection department
Their services are available to PRIDE 24/7 and we owe them more than we could ever repay.
Board member Jean Dorton lends a hand at a clean up.
Our local coordinators make up another group of invaluable volunteers. Each of our 40 counties and some of the individual cities have designated PRIDE coordinators. These people faithfully plan activities for our spring clean up events. They are responsible for organizing the clean up groups, scheduling contractors, working out timetables, ensuring that the proper equipment is where it is needed, arranging for disposal of the accumulated garbage, and juggling the multitude of tasks associated with any event. Because of this monumental undertaking, we are now working to establish PRIDE committees in each county to assist our local coordinators.
In addition to the designated PRIDE coordinators, some individuals take the initiative to conduct clean up events. Tony Lewis, a Perry County volunteer, organized a clean up along a creek where he grew up. Tony wanted his sons to be able to swim in the creek, just like he did as a child. Since Tony started his campaign, over 100 junk cars have been towed out of the creek. During the PRIDE clean up this past spring, volunteers collected approximately 1,500 bags full of garbage from the creek and its banks. Tony’s clean up drew at least one person from each of the 43 homes along the Fort Branch creek. Once a month, Tony leads a group of kids to pick up litter along roadways. Tony’s sons still can’t swim in the creek, but thanks to the efforts of people like Tony, someday they will. You see, now that Tony has cleaned up Fort Branch, he is organizing citizen groups for clean ups in two other Perry County communities.
Rosa Armatige.
Rosa Armatige is another dedicated PRIDE volunteer. She never misses a PRIDE clean up event. Rosa, a 95-year-old Menifee County resident, picks up garbage with her cane.
Volunteers can have other effects besides their physical efforts. After watching his grandson spend a long, hard day helping to clean up an illegal dump, a Casey County resident, with tears in his eyes, confessed that he had been a contributor to the illegal dump and pledged that he would never improperly dispose of trash again. He was dismayed to see his grandson cleaning up a mess that he had helped make.
I have lived in several states and traveled extensively in almost all of the states. I consider Kentucky to be one of the most beautiful places God created. Under the leadership of Karen Engle, our executive director, PRIDE will continue to succeed and one day this area will be as close to pristine as we can possibly make it. We want others to visit Kentucky and fall in love with her natural beauty. But, as Secretary Beckford says, “our trash isn’t unique and no one will pay to come see it.”
