Vision in ActionFall 2015

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In This IssueMother Earth...Cover

Adopt-A-Park AwardsDistinguished Service Nominations...pg. 2

Art in Recycled Trash...pg. 3Monthly Beautification Awards...pg. 4

Teen Board Class VI...pg. 5OKC Harvest...pg. 6

Annual Giving | Contact Us...pg. 7Memorials & Honorariums...pg. 8

Mother Earth, Darlin’ Daisy, and Larry the Litterbug sure have been busy visiting 25 elementary

schools this fall and reaching nearly 10,000 kids! “Mother Earth” is an environmental youth education

program designed to teach elementary students how to care for their environment. For nearly 20 years Mother Earth and her

friends have been educating the youth of OKC on the importance of caring for the earth. The program begins with a play performed by

professional actors. In this funny and interactive play students learn how to care for their environment by learning about recycling, littering, decomposition, and anti-graffiti. The students help teach Larry the Litterbug important lessons

and take the “Earth pledge” promising to respect our Earth.

“We have to keep our earth clean so it’s beautiful,” says Sebastian. Sebastian is a 3rd grader at Fillmore Elementary who says his favorite part of the play was when “the litterbug did the ‘Earth pledge’ and learned to clean the earth!” He says he

would tell Larry the Litterbug to “Bring a recycle bin. If he sees trash, pick it up and put it in the recycle bin.” After seeing the play, Sebastian plans to help by cleaning

the park and help his neighbors keep their yards clean too!

Although this was Sebastian’s first time to see the play, many students within the OKC are have seen the play before and years later remember the lessons Mother Earth taught. We met

Abby, Gabby, and Yvonne, 2nd graders at Kaiser Elementary, who remembered seeing Mother Earth in preschool. They said Mother Earth taught them to “not throw trash on the ground but in the trash or recycling.”

After the performance at Linwood Elementary we talked with 4th graders Zach, Omar, and Trinitee. They all agreed that their favorite part of the play was when Mother Earth and Darlin’ Daisy taught Larry the Litterbug not to paint on the

walls because it’s called ‘graffiti’ and it can cause pollution!

Mother Earth Sponsored By:The Boeing Company

The Kirkpatrick Family FundOGE Energy Corporation

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Annual Adopt-A-Park Awards

Congratulations to our 2015 Adopt-A-Park winners! Thank you for all you do to keep our parks and public spaces clean and beautiful. These awards are a way for OKC

Beautiful to acknowledge the hard work our citizens

put into beautifying Oklahoma City. Winners were judged by

the overall appearance of their adopted site in the areas of litter

control, mowing and landscape improvements. Adopters will be recognized

and awarded a trophy by the Mayor Cornett and city council members at the city council meeting on October 27.

Ward 1 – OKC Sail & Power Squadron for Lake Hefner BreakwaterWard 2 – Crown Heights & Edgemere Heights H.O.A. for Shartel Medians Ward 3 – Lytle Grove Neighborhood Association for Lytle Drive Ward 4 – REACH – Boeing Organization for Lake Stanley Draper Marina Ward 6 – Miller Neighborhood Association for Miller Neighborhood Ward 7 – Lincoln Terrace Neighborhood Association for Nichols Court Park Ward 8 – Surrey Hills Home and Garden Club for Surrey Hills Blvd Medians Overall – Friends of Martin Park for Martin Park Nature Center

Distinguished Service Award Nominations OKC Beautiful is seeking nominations for the 33rd Annual Distinguished Service Awards. Examples of award-winning nominations include beautification, conservation, neighborhood improvements, public and private landscaping, public education or litter control projects in the greater Oklahoma City area. Nominees may

include individuals, businesses, community organizations, groups and specific beautification efforts.

Nominations are due by Friday, November 6 and the selection committee will hold a vote on Monday, November 16 to determine the 2016 Distinguished Service Award Winners. If you have a nomination or

would like to serve on the selection committee, email Brittany Earnest at brittany@okcbeautiful.com.

This luncheon honors all segments of the community that strive to create and sustain programs and projects that benefit the Oklahoma City metro area.

Event Details:Wednesday, March 23, 2016 | 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club7000 NW Grand Blvd., Nichols Hills, OK 73116

“The process of repurposing materials has immea-surable benefits. There are instinctive, economic, esthetic, philosophical, and even political reasons to recycle, and visual artists are a very big part of this process.”

-D. Dominick Lombardiartist, writer, curator

For additional event information or to make a donation, call Brittany at 405.525.8822 or email brittany@okcbeautiful.com.

Invitation and Call for entry information available at: www.OKCbeautiful.com

send photos of art with submission forms to:ARTshowOKC@gmail.com

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Monthly Beautification Awards Congratulations to our August, September & October Monthly Beautification Award winners! Every month from April to November we award businesses, organizations and residents for their efforts in beautifying their properties.

Join us inrecognizing

beautiful properties

across the city by tagging

@OKCBeautiful #MBAOKC

August Commercial:Vox Printing

September Commercial:Sonic, America’s Drive-In

September Residential:Home of Joe LaRocca

September Residential:Home of John Smelser

August Organization:Central Oklahoma Home

Builders Association

August Commercial:Chaparral Energy

October Organization:Hope Church

October Residential:Home in Ward 3

October Commercial:Mathis Brothers

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Introducing Teen Board Class VIIntroducing the class of 2016 Teen Board, sponsored by SONIC, America’s Drive-In! We are excited to welcome an amazing group of teens to OKC Beautiful. We received a record number of applications and were able to narrow down to an outstanding group of leaders. Among these leaders we have several Student Council, Key Club, and National Honors Society members, class presidents, varsity sports captains, environmental and eco club presidents, as well as members of Youth Leadership Exchange and the Mayor’s Youth Council. These teens represent a diverse range of schools including Oklahoma City, Putnam City, and Millwood Public schools, and several charter and private schools. Throughout the course of their service on the board, the teens will continue to develop leadership skills as they help OKC Beautiful fulfill our mission.

The teens have already hit the ground running. We held orientation at Sonic in September and our first regular meeting in October. To celebrate America Recycles Day, the teens made an upcycled t-shirt rug that will be displayed at OKC Beautiful’s Recycled A.R.T. show at SixTwelve during the month of November. As their service project, the teens will be building a vegetable garden at FD Moon Academy through our OKC Harvest program this fall. Their next big project is to plan, organize, and implement their fundraiser to support our annual service scholarship. Stayed tuned for details!

Produce A’Plenty with OKC HarvestTomatoes, watermelon, and beets, oh my! It has been a busy fall with our OKC Harvest program. We currently have 17 gardens growing across the OKC community, with one more build in October to bring the grand total to 18 gardens! We have one early childhood center, 11 Elementary Schools, one middle school, two high schools, and three community centers benefiting from their gardens.

At Tulakes Elementary teachers at all grade levels are using their garden to teach a variety of skills. Brett Payne, 5th grade teacher, used lettuce from the garden to make Asian minced chicken wraps with his students. “We find ways to learn in the garden every day!” says a 2nd grade teacher at the school. Students at Tulakes were even featured on a KFOR segment about school gardens.

Potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, peppers, and okra were among the harvest at Roosevelt Middle School. Since OKC Harvest’s original four-bed garden build, David Holcomb, a teacher at Roosevelt, has applied for and received an additional five beds! A science teacher at the school says, “we had so many cucumbers, we taught a lesson about fermentation and made five gallons of pickles!”

“It’s like a field trip every day,” says a 6th grade at Edgemere Elementary. Edgemere has used their harvest of beets, lettuce, kale and other greens to make salads.

They even donated some of the harvest to a local food pantry.

Across the OKC metro, young learners are discovering how their food is grown. We know that children learn best in a variety of setting and outdoor classrooms provide kids with “in-school” field trips that allow for observational and hands-on learning on a daily and weekly basis.

Thank you to our OKC Harvest donors: Michael Barlow, BlueCross and BlueShield of Oklahoma, Martha Burger, Jill Clark, Cox Charities, Devon

Science Grant, First Unitarian Church of Oklahoma City, Larry Heyman and Dr. Amy Middleman, Cyndee and Kenny Holloway, The Junior League of

OKC, Lowe’s/Keep America Beautiful, Aubrey and Katie McClendon, Frank McDonald, Midtown Renaissance, Northwest OKC Chamber

Leadership Class, OG&E, and Kevin and Lisa Putt.

“Teaching kids how to feed themselves and how to live in a community responsibly is the center of an education.”

Alice Waters, Chef & Founder of the Edible Schoolyard Project

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Executive CommitteePresident

Carla Sharpe, Devon Energy Corporation Vice President

Ellen Spiropoulos, Phillips Murrah PC Secretary

Elizabeth Tyrrell, McAfee & TaftTreasurer

Spencer Smith, McAfee & Taft Program Chair

Cynthia Brindley, Community VolunteerFinance Chair

Mary Blankenship Pointer, Republic Bank

StaffExecutive Director

Lisa B. Synarlisabsynar@okcbeautiful.com

Marketing and Events ManagerBrittany Earnest

brittany@okcbeautiful.comPrograms Manager

Kristen Milburnkristen@okcbeautiful.com

Contact InformationPhone 405.525.8822

Fax 405.525.8826

For more information, visit OKCBeautiful.com

Board of DirectorsRobert Angelo, Metro Mark Realtors

Lee Bollinger, NAI Sullivan GroupDerek Byrd, Bill Gumerson & Associates

Phil Gibson, Paradigm AdvantEdgeAlexander Klebanov, Chesapeake Energy

Peggy Mayfield, IBC BankLynda Mobley, Oklahoma Natural Gas

Lisa Putt, Community VolunteerEdie Roodman, Jewish Federation of OKCMatt Schein, SONIC, America’s Drive-In

Roy Smith, Comp. Risk ManagementHardy Watkins, INTEGRIS Health

What You Plant Now,Will Harvest Later Oklahoma City is a thriving community built from the ground up by local individuals and corporations willing to invest in their hometown. Founded over 44 years ago, OKC Beautiful has been committed to the community as well as being a key player in economic development by investing time and resources back into Oklahoma City for residents to enjoy.

OKC Beautiful enhances the image and appearance of Oklahoma City through com-munity programs such as Adopt-A-Park, LitterBlitz, Mother Earth, Teen Board, Land-Scapes and OKC Harvest. These programs help unite corporations, organizations and individuals with volunteer projects.

Your participation in the 2016 annual giving campaign is an investment in education for our youth, beautification initiatives throughout Oklahoma City and a stronger sense of community.

“We invite you to join us in our support of OKC Beautiful to raise $175,000 for the 2016 Annual Giving Campaign be-cause what you plant now, will harvest later.

OKC Beautiful is privately funded and relies heavily on the generosity of donors like you, and like us, to execute their community and environmental programming. We are excit-ed about the outdoor classrooms that will be created with funds from this annual campaign. We love that OKC Beauti-

ful rallies thousands of volunteers each year to clean up our city streets and parks.

We understand the positive impact these programs make in our community. Join us by making a donation to OKC Beautiful today!”

-Larry and Polly Nichols

NONPROFIT ORG.US POSTAGE

PAIDOKLAHOMA CITY, OK

PERMIT NO. 2353535 N. Classen BoulevardOklahoma City, OK 73118

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

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OKLAHOMA REDBUDAmerican Energy PartnersThe Boeing Company Dr. & Mrs. Jerry BrindleyChesapeake Energy Corporation Dental Depot/Dr. Glenn Ashmore Devon Energy Corporation Edward JonesMr. & Mrs. L. Michael GuardMr. Ty HartwigInasmuch Foundation Jean I Everest Foundation Dr. Don KastensThe Kirkpatrick Family Fund MidFirst Bank Mr. and Mrs. Larry J. NicholsOGE Energy Corp. Oklahoma Department of

Environmental QualityThe OklahomanPeach Crest FarmsPresbyterian Health FoundationSONIC, America’s Drive-InTotal Environment, Inc.Urban Lawn & Landscape

Special Thanks To Our DonorsOKLAHOMA REDBUD (cont.)Waste Management W & W Steel/Mr. Rick Cooper The Williams Companies

MIGHTY OAKBancFirst Mr. Charles GivensMcGladrey LLP Oklahoma Natural GasMr. & Mrs. Kevin Putt

ROYAL CYPRESSAT&T Mr. Robert BrowneMr. Dick ClementsMr. & Mrs. Bill ComstockMrs. Terri CooperFanny Bolen Interiors Great Plains Coca Cola Mr. & Mrs. David Hudiburg Metro Mark Realtors/

Mr. & Mrs. Dick MarshallOklahoma Heart Hospital Pearl’s Restaurant Group

ROYAL CYPRESS (cont.)Phillips Murrah P.C. Mr. & Mrs. George RecordsMr. & Mrs. G. Calvin Sharpe Mr. & Mrs. Spencer SmithMr. & Mrs. Andrew SpiropoulosMr. & Mrs. Roger Spring Mr. & Mrs. Larry Trachtenberg Mr. & Mrs. Hardy Watkins

BLAZE MAPLEAncon Development CorporationBank of Oklahoma Mr. Mark BeffortMr. & Mrs. Lee BollingerMrs. Ann Noble BrownCentral Liquor CompanyCharles & Cassandra Bowen

Charitable FoundationClaims Management ResourcesMs. Alice DahlgrenMr. Jim DanielMs. Vickie DennisMr. & Mrs. David FleischakerMrs. Barbara Fretwell

BLAZE MAPLE (cont.)Bill Gumerson & AssociatesHal Smith Restaurant GroupHeenan’s Home FurnitureMr. Gary HomseyDr. & Mrs. J. William HoodMr. & Mrs. Ed Kirby Ms. Sherry KnightMr. Rick LippertLove Meyer Family FoundationMr. Randall MockMrs. Cheryl MooreNorthrop GrummanMr. Allen PaineQuail Creek BankMr. & Mrs. Steve RaybournMr. & Mrs. Steve SlawsonDr. David Smith & Dr. Erin GlasgowMr. & Mrs. Lee Allan Smith Mr. & Mrs. Rob TyrrellVose Family FoundationMr. & Mrs. Don ZachritzMr. C. Michael Zeeck

Memorials, Honorariums & Planned GiftsIn Memory of Mary Margaret Ledbetter from Dig & Hope Garden Club