She Speaks in every issue
Laura McBryde Photography
michelle
bailey
KEEPING FLORENCE BEAUTIFUL
I CANNOT REMEMBER EVER NOT LOVING TO BE OUTSIDE. We didn’t have
electronics when I was growing up. Our parents told us to go play outside,
so we did.
My grandfather was an avid gardener. His garden was the food source for the
family, for the most part, and each season he would plant and grow vegetables
and berries. As a young child, I remember playing in his garden with my brother,
eating all the berries we could. My grandfather taught us, at a young age, to
respect the earth and, in return, it will provide for you. As I grew up and started
to travel, I realized that the outdoors became something that was special to me.
I always feel at peace when I am either hiking in the mountains or walking on
the beach; however, I feel most at peace when I am at home in my own garden
thinking about what my grandfather taught me. As I have gotten older and my
faith has grown, I feel closer to God when I am outside. I am so in awe of what
He created.
Today, I am the Chair of Keep Florence Beautiful, a non-profit organization that
is very important to me. Established in 2000, Keep Florence Beautiful (KFB) was
originally created as a subsidiary of Palmetto Pride under several volunteers.
It was then moved under The City of Florence to mainly focus on litter cleanups
which were held once a year. As the media coordinator, I was part of the original group in 2000 that would meet in the conference room of The Chamber of
Commerce. Our mission is to engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving Florence through the visual aspects of our community. We
support litter prevention, waste reduction, recycling, beautification, and community greening. We identify the causes of litter and reduce it by organizing
cleanups and programs that beautify and naturally clean our environment.
These programs include community education for responsible consumerism
and sustainability; source reduction, reuse and recycling; community gardens;
restoration of vacant lots; and waterway beautification.
Keep Florence Beautiful really is part of my life. I work a full-time job, but
when I am not there my life really revolves around KFB and its mission. We are a
working Board of Directors; this means we do everything, and when I say
everything, I mean everything...from paperwork to cleanups, mentoring to
advocacy and education, and anything in between. What I enjoy most, however,
is making a difference in our community. Seeing results is the best reward!
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APRIL 2016
Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading non-profit that envisions a country where every community is a green, clean, and beautiful place to live, recently announced the launch of the 2016 Great American
Cleanup, the country’s largest community improvement program. Keep Florence Beautiful does this on
a local level with local partners. On April 30th, the Keep Florence Beautiful Board of Directors, along with
individuals, churches, nonprofit organizations, political organizations, busine 76W2