Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc. recently held its second annual Environmental Stewardship Awards Breakfast at the Riverside Community Center in Fort Myers. The packed event included community members and businesses celebrating their efforts to make a positive impact on the environment.

The mission of Keep Lee County Beautiful is to inspire, educate and engage the Lee County community in improving, beautifying and protecting our environment. The year, 2023, began like no other with a high demand of cleanups in Lee County’s recovery phase from Hurricane Ian. Keep Lee County Beautiful held events across the county removing 85,769 pounds of trash and debris from the environment and 145 trees planted to help reestablish the lost tree canopy. Keep Lee County Beautiful held 179 community cleanups, worked with 3,173 volunteers who dedicated 9,538.50 hours. They also had 30 outreach events educating 6,050 individuals.

The awards breakfast recognized the following groups, individuals and businesses for their environmental stewardship and action which helped make the work of KLCB possible.

The 2023 Environmental Stewardship Award Winners are:

• Outstanding Adoption Group – Julie Yellig

• Community Partner – Nancy Macphee from the Lee County Visitors & Convention Bureau

• Youth Engagement Partner – Susie Hassett from the Lee County School District

• Outstanding Site Captain – Fort Myers Beach Community Foundation

• Business Partner – Beach Talk Radio

• Marine Debris Improvement – Mike Hammond from the Great Calusa Blueway

• Community Champion – Jacki Liszak from the Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce

• Volunteer of the Year – Allen and Chery Day

The 2023 Environmental Stewardship Finalists are:

• Outstanding Adoption Group – The Chouinard Family, Phil Houican

• Community Partner – Cape Coral Code Enforcement, Tunaskin Aquatic Apparel

• Youth Engagement Partner – Florida Gulf Coast University, Lee County N.W. Regional Library

• Outstanding Site Captain – Dave Fox, Harry Phillips

• Business Partner – Waste Pro, College Hunks Hauling Junk

• Marine Debris Improvement – Salty Sam’s Marina, Sarah Burnsed

• Community Champion – Crowther Roofing, Lee County Sheriff’s Office

• Volunteer of the Year – Tami Lupe, Lee Ehrlich

About Keep Lee County Beautiful Inc.

Keep Lee County Beautiful, Inc., established in 1989, is the county’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. This local nonprofit forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For more information, call 239-334-3488 or visit klcb.org.