Hey good lookin'

Keep Texas Beautiful is giving credit where credit is due.

The Odessa division of the Texas Department of Public Safety and Lennerd Byrd are being recognized for their efforts to keep Odessa looking good.

Byrd, TxDOT director of administration, is the winner of the 2009 Individual Leadership Award, one of nine categories in the Keep Texas Beautiful awards.

Since 1999, Byrd has been involved with Keep Odessa Beautiful. He has dedicated more than 129 hours of his time cleaning up and going to board, committee and Bingo meetings.

"KOB was without an executive director for about six months, and Lennard stepped up and made sure all the bills were paid and kept the organization alive. He's at every single cleanup we do, every event, every meeting, and he's just an awesome volunteer. And a lot of time being a volunteers is almost a thankless job - this is one good way to say thank you," Reakes-Collins said.

This was the first of this kind of award for Byrd and he was surprised.

"They kind of caught me off guard. I just volunteer. My staff didn't tell me they were (nominating me), but it's truly an honor. I'm very pleased that they recognized the things I've done for the community," Byrd said.

Byrd got started with Keep Odessa Beautiful while he was working on his graduate degree at UTPB. Since then, his role has only grown, and Byrd has served as board chairman since 2005.

"It's humbling to get recognized for something we should all be doing ... making our community a better place to live," Byrd said.

The Odessa division of TxDOT is the 2009 winner in the Keep Texas Beautiful State Government category.

When planning and construction began on the JBS Parkway overpass, there were more than 60 trees that had been planted as part of a beautification project 20 years prior. A decision to destroy or relocate the trees had to be made.

TxDOT District Landscape Architect Laurie Williams said turning the red and live oak trees into firewood just wasn't an option. She said 28 of those trees were moved and replanted on TxDOT property. Another 40 were left there and protected from destruction.

"TxDOT is leading by example and if the community can see this organization stepping up to the plate, then more people will follow suit and make our community a better place," Reakes-Collins said.

TxDOT Public Information Officer and Keep Odessa Beautiful volunteer Glen Larum said he believes this is the first time the Odessa District of TxDOT has received this type of statewide recognition from Keep Texas Beautiful.

Keep Texas Beautiful has also recognized McCamey as one of nine winners of the 2009 Governor's Community Achievement Award for outstanding community improvement. The nine winners will share $1 million in landscape grants from TxDOT. McCamey will receive $65,000 for a landscaping project along a local state right-of-way.

McCamey Operation Pride/Keep McCamey Beautiful - the community's local Keep Texas Beautiful affiliate - worked to educate and engage the community in the program. The organization teamed up with local junior high and high school students to collect 179 bags of trash around campuses. In all the group's work in 2008 netted 600 bags of debris from area streets and lots, and led to the removal of four dilapidated buildings and 85 inoperable cars in and around the community.

It's the kind of effort Byrd practices and preaches.

"Well, we only have this one earth, and it's not very hard for us to keep up with our trash and recycle as much as we can. It can end up in landfill or we can reuse it. We all like clean yards and highways. We just need to be careful how we handle our trash, it's something we should all do because it benefits us all," Byrd said.

KEEP ODESSA BEAUTIFUL Texas Trash off

>> What: Texas Trash-Off.

>> When: 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.

>> Where: Woodson Park, 1120 E. Murphy St.

>> Who: Keep Odessa Beautiful needs volunteers to help clean up Odessa. T-shirts and recyclable bags will be given away to all who participate.

>> Call: Patti Reakes-Collins at 333-1299