TDOT, Keep Tennessee Beautiful Awards of Excellence Grant recipients announced

TDOT recognized 16 winners of the Keep Tennessee Beautiful Awards of Excellence Grant Competition on Sept. 22, presenting a total of $47,000 in grants to environmental leaders across the state. Recipients included, Keep Chester County Beautiful, Memphis City Beautiful, Keep Knoxville Beautiful, Keep Sevier Beautiful, Crossville’s Homesteads Tower Association, Keep The Tennessee River Beautiful, Tipton County Litter Officer Terry Lovett, and Hardin Valley in Knox County.
The winners were announced during the TDOT/KTnB Biennial Conference, held virtually this year via Zoom. KTnB Executive Director Missy Marshall hosted the conference. TDOT Deputy Commissioner and Bureau Chief of Environment and Planning Preston Elliott shared special remarks. Awards were presented in five main categories: Public Education, Public Participation, Leadership, TDOT County Litter Grant Programs, and Keep America Beautiful TN Affiliate.
“We are grateful to TDOT for their generous participation in KTnB’s Awards of Excellence Grant Competition,” Marshall said. “It’s an honor to recognize environmental leaders who work tirelessly to help fulfill the mission of litter clean-up and prevention in our state.”
Further, the conference spotlighted the accomplishments of the past two years, celebrating the success of TDOT’s “Nobody Trashes Tennessee” initiative and KTnB’s “Trashercise” campaign, both aggressive statewide litter prevention programs.
Penny Hardaway, famed NBA star and head coach of the Memphis Tigers, presented the keynote address.