Society Members Attend Keep America Beautiful Conference
Jackson, MS - Jennifer Stanford, Phi Theta Kappa's Director of Programs,
and Phi Theta Kappa chapter members from Florida, Kansas and Texas recently
attended the Keep America Beautiful National Conference in Orlando, Florida.
The Society was notably promoted and recognized during many of the conference's
events.
Phi Theta Kappa announced its partnership with Keep
America Beautiful for the 2006-08 International
Service Program, Operation Green: Improving Our Communities
at the Society's 2006 International Convention in Seattle, Washington.
This new partnership will engage Society members in various education
and awareness programs focused on improving their communities.
The
first day of the KAB conference included a Phi Theta Kappa breakout session
presented by Stanford, Sue Smith, National Director of Education for Keep
America Beautiful, and two chapter officers from Valencia Community College
in Florida.
Smith informed attendees about the partnership
between Keep America Beautiful and Phi Theta Kappa, how it began and presented
examples of chapter and regional involvement within the program.
Kerry
Anderson, Phi Theta Kappa Florida Regional executive chapter officer
and chapter president at Valencia Community College, West Campus, explained
her chapter's Operation Green projects including sponsoring
a no-smoking project on campus and donating old magazines to local hospitals.
The chapter also plans to create a park for an under-funded school in the
area.
Amanda Nelson, chapter vice president at Valencia Community
College, Kissimmee Campus, explained her chapter's local graffiti removal
program. Kansas members from
Coffeyville Community College, Victoria
Loomis, the chapter's vice president of service, and member Ashley Golden,
shared details about their chapter's involvement with a community restoration
project.
Sessions attended by Stanford include the keynote
speech by astronaut Bob Springer, crew member of the Space Shuttles Atlantis
and Discovery, and presentations on reducing graffiti and crime prevention
through environmental design.
Approximately 400 attended
the 53rd annual conference. Major initiatives discussed were new ideas
for recycling, volunteer recruitment and management, and best practices
for graffiti prevention.
Established in 1953, Keep America
Beautiful is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and
education organization. The non-profit organization encourages individuals
to take responsibility in improving their community environments.
Phi
Theta Kappa International Honor Society, headquartered in Jackson, is
the largest honor society in American higher education with 1,200 chapters
on two-year and community college campuses in all 50 of the United States,
Canada, Germany, the Republic of Palau, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia,
the British Virgin Islands, the United Arab Emirates and U.S. territorial
possessions. More than two million students have been inducted since its
founding in 1918, with approximately 100,000 students inducted annually.
