BRADENTON — Keep Manatee Beautiful is once again recognizing outstanding volunteers and organizations committed to keeping Manatee County looking good.K
During the awards ceremony, held Sept. 26 at the IMG Academy Golf Club, more than 40 individuals and organizations were recognized for their contributions, including some on Anna Maria Island.
This year’s landscaping image awards recognized Memorial Garden at Holmes Beach City Hall, Bradenton Cardiology Center, City of Palmetto Riverside Multimodal Project, Ungarelli Preserve, Valencia, Wild Oak Bay and Manatee County Habitat for Humanity.
Public service awards went to the city of Holmes Beach for its holiday cleanups, the Bradenton Police Department for environmental law compliance. Woodruff and Sons, SMR Aggregates, Inc., Lowe’s Local Heroes at Cortez Store, Florida Power and Light Company and Jones Potato Farm all were recognized with business and industry public service awards.
Leave Your Mark green school honors were awarded to Anna Maria Elementary School, Bayshore High School, Braden River Middle School, Daughtrey Preparatory School of Arts and Sciences, Kinnan Elementary School, Lee Middle School, Lincoln Middle School, Manatee High School, Manatee School of Arts and Sciences, Palmetto High School, Rowlett Elementary School and Southeast High School. Top honors in the category went to Oneco Elementary School, Haile Middle School, Bayshore High School and State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.
Outstanding volunteer awards went to the Meehan family and friends for the Adopt-A-Highway program, the Sarasota-Manatee Bicycle Club for the Adopt-A-Road program, Bradenton Riverwalkers for the Adopt-A-Shore program and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Crime Prevention Unit for storm drain marking.
Recycling awards went to Manatee County Government, Keeton’s Office and Art Supply, Waste Pro SRQ Material Recovery Facility, Toad Hall Children’s Center and Elizabeth Paskvan.
Community organization partnership recognition went to Our Earth Matters, Surfing’s Evolution and Preservation Foundation and Suncoast Aqua Ventures. Government partnership awards recognized Port Manatee.
Media community relations public service awards went to Video Techniques and photographer Chris Fitzgibbons. The awards also recognized youth volunteers from the youth group of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church and the personal service contributions of Linda Watkins.
