Keep Irving Beautiful Hosts Annual Awards Ceremony

Irving, TX, August 11, 2016 --(PR.com)-- Keep Irving Beautiful’s annual “Mayor and KIB Awards” ceremony was held on Monday, August 8, 2016, at the First Baptist Church of Irving. As the guests entered the Fellowship Hall to the beautiful music of violinist Caonex Peguero, they were greeted and signed in by volunteers Sandy Franco, Chuck Kirk, Nancy Medina and Meg Mueller. The 121 guests enjoyed a delicious buffet meal prepared by chef Kristine Sanborn and her staff, while T.J. Friedel captured the moments with her photography and Geoff Sirkel provided technical support.

KIB’s Volunteer Recognition Committee chair and hostess for the evening Margie Stipes opened the ceremony by inviting members of Boy Scout Troop 508 to present the colors and lead the pledge of allegiance. Pastor Jared Richard of First Baptist delivered the invocation, after which KIB Staff Rick Hose and Julie Schmitt gave an overview of activities during the past year. Mistress of Ceremonies Cathy Whiteman of Irving Community Television Network, along with the mayor’s representative Councilman Brad LaMorgese, then came on stage to present the awards to the following honorees:

Youth Leadership Award (individual): Nimitz High School Chapter of Future Farmers of America
Educator Award: Dr. Jose Parra, Superintendent of the Irving ISD
Educator Award: Katherine Villarreal, North Lake College
Faith Group Award: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
Business and Industry Award: Acosta Marketing Group – Acosta Cares
Media Award: Rambler Newspaper
Civic Organization Award: Irving Noon Day Lions Club
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ken and Rosa Gordon
Green Government Award: City of Irving Traffic and Transportation Department
KIB Hometown Award: Sammy Romero
KIB Hometown Award: Joe Putnam

In addition to these winners, recipients of the 2016 Keep Texas Beautiful Awards were also recognized. KIB welcomed special guest Cheri Reynolds Howard from the Keep Texas Beautiful Board of Directors to help present these awards, which included: Rambler Newspaper - Third Place in the Media Category, Verizon - Third Place in the Business and Industry Category, and the Alpha Zeta Eta Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society - First Place Ruthe Jackson Youth Leadership Award in the College and University Category.

“For many of us on the KIB Board of Directors, this is our favorite event of the year,” said Mrs. Stipes. “We try to thank our volunteers, sponsors and partners throughout the year for all they do, but it is especially nice to have an event that is dedicated to just that - expressing our gratitude to them. Irving is fortunate to have so many people who care about our community and work tirelessly in making it a better place to live, work and play. We are truly honored to have them here as our guests for this very special evening.”

Keep Irving Beautiful is an award-winning, grassroots, non-profit leadership organization dedicated to educating community members about litter abatement, recycling, and beautification in order to help preserve the health and prosperity of our city. As an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful, the goals of Keep Irving Beautiful reach out to all aspects of Irving – government, business, civic and church organizations, schools, neighborhoods. All residents of Irving are a vital part of the program’s success.