(Knoxville, TN) – In a kickoff weekend celebrating October as ‘Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Month,’ 73 volunteers removed a total of 9,400 pounds of trash from the Tennessee River’s FortLoudoun Lake in Lenoir City and Knoxville during river cleanups.
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful (KTNRB) hosted the events in partnership with LivingLands & Waters, Tennessee Valley Authority, the Tennessee Department of Transportation(TDOT)’s Highway Beautification Office, Keep Tennessee Beautiful, Keep Knoxville Beautiful,and Yamaha Rightwaters™.
Living Lands and Waters brought five 30-foot-long aluminum boats to add to KTNRB’s 25-foot-long boat. Volunteers ventured out to various shorelines, collecting 270 bags of trash (mostlyfilled with plastic bottles), 30 tires, 855 pounds of scrap metal that will be recycled, a 30.5-foot-long concrete dock, and much more.
In Lenoir City, 30 volunteers removed 5,903 pounds of trash before enjoying a free lunchsponsored by Calhoun’s at the Marina at the riverside restaurant. The 43 volunteers inKnoxville removed 3,497 pounds of trash after enjoying a sponsored brunch at the LakesideTavern, where KTNRB’s 1 st annual Ripple Effect Awards presented by YamahaRightwaters™ were awarded to nine Tennessee recipients.
“It was a truly inspiring weekend, with passionate volunteers smiling the whole time they cleaned the river, elected officials reading proclamations for our waterways, and river champion award recipients getting recognized,” said Kathleen Gibi, KTNRB Executive Director.
TDOT Transportation Manager Mike McClanahan read a proclamation by TennesseeGovernor Bill Lee declaring October to be ‘Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful Month.’ Cityof Knoxville Vice Mayor Finbarr Saunders and Knox County Commission Chairman HughNystrom presented similar proclamations from Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero and KnoxCounty Mayor Glenn Jacobs.
“We’ve got a lot to be proud of with this treasure called the Tennessee River, and what we’reseeing through KTNRB Month is that everyone—private citizens, companies, sponsors,nonprofits, governments, elected officials—are all demonstrating how valuable the river is tothem,” said Gibi.
Recipients of the 2019 Tennessee Ripple Effect Awards presented by YamahaRightwaters™ included:
Adopt a River Mile – Anthony LaurinoConservation – Ijams Nature CenterCorporation – Waterfront Management,Standout Youth – Cash ‘The Conservation Kid’ DanielsKeep America/Tennessee Beautiful Affiliate – Keep Bristol BeautifulGovernment Department – TDOT’s Highway Beautification OfficeElected Official – Alderman John Stamps of Collierville, TNMarina – Hickory Star Resort & MarinaBeacon – Jake Davis
Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful will continue with two additional 2019 Ripple EffectAwards ceremonies for Alabama/Mississippi and Kentucky on the following dates:Friday, Oct. 4 @ 8:30 a.m. – Guntersville State Park Lodge | Guntersville, ALSaturday, Oct. 19 @ 10 am. – Kenlake State Park Bayview Building | Golden Pond, KYRiver cleanups will be held immediately following the awards. Please visitwww.KeepTNRiverBeautiful.org/upcomingcleanups for more information.
