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More than 60 members of the Keep Montgomery County Green (KMCG) organization gathered for the fourth Volunteer Recognition Dinner at the West County Community Development Center on Friendship Drive in Magnolia, Feb. 23. The main purpose of their event was to honor six special volunteers who gave a tremendous amount of time and effort to help promote the beautification of Montgomery County and to unveil the 2013 Growing Green Plant, the Black and Blue Salvia, and the award-winning poster for this year.

One of the winners of a KMCG award was the Magnolia Citizen's Police Academy Alumni Association, who won the award for Beautification/Community Improvement for the Roy Street Demolition Project, led by Alumni Association President Summer Foltz and member Jill Gabriel, with Officer Juan Lopez as leader of the academy classes. Magnolia Police Chief Domingo Ibarra nominated this project because of the effort mounted by the group to integrate several civic and neighborhood association members, along with local companies that donated their services to help, to remove an abandoned structure that was an eyesore and a danger to the community.

"We work hard to live up to our motto, 'In Partnership with Our Community,' and this project was a perfect example of that success," said Ibarra, who stated he was extremely proud of the Alumni Association. 

Other winners include: John Warner of the Texas A&M Forest Service with sponsor Anheuser-Busch, for heading a volunteer to replant 500 trees as part of the Texas ReLEAF project; Boy Scout Troop 1855 in West Conroe for donating more than 900 hours of time for trash collection; the City of Conroe for implementing effective water conservation programs during the recent 2011 drought; Cherrie Edwards of Project Building H.O.P.E. (Helping Others Play Everyday), a project to rebuild a park destroyed by the Tri-County Fire; and Jan Hatfield for leading the recycling efforts of Magnolia United Methodist Church Women.

Along with honoring the super volunteers, a $500 college scholarship for the organization's poster art contest was awarded to Dylan Etter, who is a senior at Magnolia ISD's Alpha Academy. Etter was sponsored by his art teacher, Regina Michaels, who is also a member of KMCG.

"I entered the poster contest last year and received some recognition, but this year I entered again and won," said Etter.

He wants to attend art school with the scholarship money and is interested in becoming a computer designer.

"I was surprised to see how much this organization does for the community and especially all the great progress they have made in helping the county recover from the recent fires," Etter noted.

The February Volunteer Recognition Event is held to honor outstanding volunteers who have been nominated for doing work areas that align with the mission of KMCB. Members and the public can nominate outstanding volunteers from November to January each year, in the areas of: recycling/waste reduction, litter prevention, beautification and community improvements, volunteerism, and environmental education.

Charlotte Riser Harris, the board chairman for the nonprofit organization, said, "We are so grateful to all our volunteers and also to our commercial sponsors, who helped us put on this event and provide the scholarship funding. We have many other projects in our community that we would love to implement - we just need help to make them happen."

KMCB puts on several events throughout the year, which include a Volunteer Recognition Dinner and a Growing Green Plant Sale. Volunteers also man the organization's booth at events and festivals and serve on the Board of Directors.

KMCG is based in Magnolia and was founded in 2004 as one of more than 350 affiliate organizations of Keep Texas Beautiful, a statewide nonprofit committed to improving community environments through programs and education. KMCG is dedicated to helping residents enhance their communities by volunteering with programs that promote waste reduction, recycling, litter prevention and community beautification.

Keep Montgomery County Green is looking for more volunteers of all ages and capabilities. For more information email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , or visit www.kmcbtexas.org.