Keep America Beautiful Presents 2025 National Awards at Largest Summit in Organization’s History

Keep America Beautiful® Presents 2025 National Awards at Largest Summit in Organization’s History

Thirty-eight affiliates and partners honored in New Orleans for advancing clean, green, and beautiful communities

NEW ORLEANS, LA (Feb. 27, 2026) – Keep America Beautiful® presented its 2025 National Awards on Thursday during its annual Summit, recognizing 38 affiliates, individuals, and partners whose work is building cleaner, greener, and more vibrant communities across the country.

Held under the theme Let’s Do Beautiful Things, the Summit was the largest affiliate gathering in the organization’s history, drawing more than 500 attendees from across the nation.

Louisiana Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser co-hosted the Summit and was on hand to personally welcome attendees to the state. He joined the Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in accepting a State Agency Partnership Award along with Keep Louisiana Beautiful.

“New Orleans is a city defined by culture and resilience and place where doing beautiful things feels especially meaningful,” said Jennifer Lawson, president and CEO of Keep America Beautiful. “These honorees are demonstrating how the power of beauty can strengthen communities and unite Americans around a shared commitment to the places we live and love.”

The Lady Bird Johnson Award was given to Kris Ziller of Keep Stockwell Beautiful in recognition of more than 20 years of volunteer leadership advancing local cleanups, expanding recycling programs, and engaging young people in service. The award, named for the former First Lady, was presented by Lucinda Robb, Lady Bird Johnson’s granddaughter.

Lady Bird Johnson Award recipient Kris Ziller of Keep Stockwell Beautiful (center) with the former First Lady’s granddaughter Lucinda Robb (left) and Keep America Beautiful President and CEO Jennifer Lawson (right).

The Sue Smith Professional Leadership Award was presented to Frances Kennedy of Keep College Park Beautiful and Susan Russell of Keep Louisiana Beautiful for their exceptional leadership within the Keep America Beautiful network of more than 750 affiliates. Both were honored for strengthening partnerships and advancing innovative programs that have expanded impact in their communities.

Sue Smith Professional Leadership Award recipient Susan Russell, Executive Director of Keep Louisiana Beautiful

Sue Smith Professional Leadership Award recipient Frances Kennedy, Executive Director of Keep College Park Beautiful

Additional honorees included:

Innovation Awards: Recognizing affiliates for innovative approaches to building clean and beautiful communities:

• Local Program (Population 30,001–100,000): Keep Longview Beautiful, Texas

• Local Partnership (Population 30,001–100,000): Keep Coral Gables Beautiful, Florida

• Local Program (Population 100,001–250,000): Keep Tangipahoa Beautiful, Louisiana

• Local Partnership (Population 100,001–250,000): Keep Cobb Beautiful, Georgia

• Local Program (Population 250,001 and over): Keep Polk County Beautiful, Florida

• Local Partnership (Population 250,001 and over): Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, Florida

• State Program (Population 250,001 and over): Keep Oklahoma Beautiful

• State Partnership (Population 250,001 and over): Keep Mississippi Beautiful

Communicating Beautifully Award

• Keep Golden Isles Beautiful for its “Georgia’s Coast Is Not an Ashtray” campaign, a scalable effort to reduce cigarette litter.

Youth Engagement Recognition Award

• Girl Scout Troop 3002, in partnership with Keep Liberty Beautiful, mobilized volunteers to deliver 50 self-sustaining mobile gardens to low-income families.

• Daniel Jackson, a Keep Texas Beautiful Young Texan Ambassador, founded EcoBike, a youth-led initiative that has removed hundreds of bags of litter and logged thousands of trail miles.

Photo Gallery

State Agency Partnership Awards

Honoring state departments and agencies that support Keep America Beautiful affiliates in local communities:

• Alabama Department of Transportation – Keep Alabama Beautiful

• Alabama Tourism Department – Keep Alabama Beautiful

• California Volunteers, Governor’s Office of Service & Community Engagement – Keep California Beautiful

• CALTRANS – Keep California Beautiful

• Delaware Solid Waste Authority – Keep Delaware Beautiful

• Georgia Department of Community Affairs – Keep Georgia Beautiful

• Georgia Environmental Protection Division – Keep Georgia Beautiful

• Georgia Forestry Commission – Keep Georgia Beautiful

• Louisiana Office of Culture, Recreation and Tourism – Keep Louisiana Beautiful

• Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development – Keep Louisiana Beautiful

• Mississippi Department of Transportation – Keep Mississippi Beautiful

• Mississippi Wildlife, Fisheries, & Parks / Natural Science Museum – Keep Mississippi Beautiful

• New Mexico Marketing Center of Excellence / New Mexico Tourism Department – New Mexico Clean & Beautiful

• Oklahoma Department of Transportation – Keep Oklahoma Beautiful

• Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality – Keep Oklahoma Beautiful

• Oklahoma Turnpike Authority – Keep Oklahoma Beautiful

• PA Department of Environmental Protection – Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful

• PA Turnpike Commission – Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful

• PA Department of Transportation – Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful

• SC Department of Natural Resources – Palmetto Pride / Keep South Carolina Beautiful

• Tennessee Department of Environmental and Conservation – Keep Tennessee Beautiful

• Tennessee Department of Transportation – Keep Tennessee Beautiful

• Tennessee Department of Tourist Development – Keep Tennessee Beautiful

• Virginia Department of Transportation and Virginia Tourism Corporation – Keep Virginia Beautiful

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About Keep America Beautiful®:

Keep America Beautiful, the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization, inspires and educates people to take action every day to improve and beautify their community environment. Established in 1953, Keep America Beautiful strives to end littering, improve recycling, and beautify America’s communities. Join us on Facebook (opens in a new tab), Instagram (opens in a new tab), X (opens in a new tab), LinkedIn (opens in a new tab), and YouTube (opens in a new tab). Donate and take action at kab.org.

MEDIA CONTACTS:

McCall Vrydaghs

Keep America Beautiful®