William Nash Award

Keep Cocke County Beautiful received the prestigious William Nash Award at the Keep America Beautiful conference in Orlando, Fla. Accepting the award on Dec. 7 was Board Chairman C. David Veridal.

“I am so pleased to be able to accept this award on behalf of the Board of Directors of Keep Cocke County and the citizens of the county,” said Veridal.” This was a surprise for us and it validates all the hard work we have put into the organization. Of course, I want to thank former KCCB Director Carla Sexton for all her hard work and the board members, too. We will continue to strive to be worthy of this recognition.
“We also want to thank the City of Newport, Cocke County and the City of Parrottsville for their support. Finally, we want to thank Edith Heller, state leader for Keep Tennessee Beautiful for all her support. Her knowledge and help has been invaluable.”

The award is given to a new affiliate of three years or less for the best implementation of KAB’s strategies. The nomination was made by Heller.

“This is the top honor that Keep America Beautiful gives to new affiliates,” she said. “It shows outstanding leadership by the new board in implementing KAB’s strategy for community involvement and community enhancement. It speaks very highly of Cocke County for their active participation and business and government leaders that support this non-profit. We are so proud of Keep Cocke County Beautiful.”

Cocke County Mayor Iliff McMahan, Jr. knows how important the KAB message is.

“When I came into office four years ago, KCCB was on the inactive list,” McMahan said.” In a beautiful county like ours, this was unacceptable! So I gathered some folks around the table to create a board that would embrace the spirit of this community and continue to preserve its natural beauty and cultural heritage traditions.

“And, that is what we got! This is another example of what you can achieve when you gather together with a common dream and make a plan to realize that dream.

“Congratulations to David, to the Board and to all the hard working volunteers that came together to realize the full potential of what a KAB affiliate can do.”

City of Newport Mayor Connie Ball is proud of KCCB.

“The City of Newport congratulates KCCB for receiving this outstanding award,” Ball said.

”Their hard work keeping Cocke County beautiful is truly making a difference. Community beautification is the beginning of attracting new businesses to our city and county. Cleanliness has a great impact on how our citizens and visitors feel about our community. The progress KCCB and the volunteers have made over the last few years is tremendous and they are to be commended on a job well done.”
Cocke County Partnership President Donald Hurst added his congratulations.

“The Partnership supports all of its 13 organizations and is proud of the work they do,” said Cocke County Partnership President Donald Hurst.” Beautification and community cleanliness both play an important role in economic and community development. We have watched Keep County Beautiful’s progress, they have made tremendous strides and we applaud their efforts. We appreciate the support of our City and County and community businesses,” he added.