What does it take to keep Arkansas beautiful?
Fortunately, with 3 million residents and 23 million visitors each year, tens of millions of people across Arkansas demonstrate their respect for our state’s remarkable environment by taking responsibility for properly disposing of their personal waste and setting a good example for all to follow. They don’t litter; they recycle; they enhance community beauty by thoughtfully taking care of their homes, businesses and neighborhoods, and our forests, roadsides and waterways. Among these are tens of thousands who go beyond this norm to volunteer each year in community cleanups, recycling drives and other civic improvement projects. They model and demonstrate their pride and concern for maintaining community attractiveness, sustainability and quality of life.
But it hasn’t always been this way. Twenty-five years ago, a group of Arkansans — concerned that the state didn’t “show well” and thus didn’t reflect the true nature of The Natural State, its environmental excellence and exceptional people — endeavored to improve behaviors that demean and diminish Arkansas’ scenic beauty. Governor Bill Clinton appointed a Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission to serve as a state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful Inc.
Then, in 1997, Arkansas voters did something outstanding: they passed a constitutional amendment creating a 1/8-cent Conservation Tax to preserve and enhance our environmental and cultural heritage, dedicating 1 percent of this revenue to fund a Keep Arkansas Beautiful program.
Since then, the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission has dedicated this investment toward educating and inspiring individuals to accept personal responsibility for improving their community environments and has implemented organized activities to engage them. And volunteers have responded with significant transformative results. Through individual voluntary actions, hundreds of thousands of caring residents have influenced and profoundly affected their communities’ physical aspects, economic vibrancy and quality of life through their exemplary actions and service. Arkansas is cleaner, more beautiful and sustained for their passion and diligence.
Today, we celebrate that, through the efforts of these extraordinary people, the Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission has, since 1998, contributed $48.6 million in volunteer-service value to the state and its communities and has produced an additional $7.4 million in supporting donations, services, products and media. These added values have produced an impressive cost benefit. For each dollar spent on program expense, we have returned $6.93 of program value.
We commemorate and honor the conscientious work our volunteers and supporters have accomplished and the conspicuous improvements they have created. And we dedicate ourselves to continue to provide education, programs and activities to them, and to others who will join them, in making and keeping Arkansas clean, green, inviting and accommodating for generations to come.
What does it take to keep Arkansan beautiful? It takes you. Come be a part of it.
Sincerely,
Robert Phelps
Executive Director, Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission
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