Keep Rutherford County Beautiful Full Committee Meeting

Keep Rutherford County Beautiful

Full Committee Agenda

May 12th, 2026

Town Hall Conference Room, 12 p.m.

Attendees: Robin Worcester, James Kilgo, Lindy Abrams, Jerry Stensland, Amber Saint Clair, Dr. Brock Hefflin, Jenna Bailey, Clark Poole, Allie Houtz

1. Administrative

   1. Great to Greatest Grant

      1. Applied for funding to support Greatest American Cleanup events with each town (Rutherfordton, Spindale, Forest City)

      2. Awarded $5,000 to support these events!

      3. Seeking to host one more event with the Town of Forest City or other town

         1. Ellenboro contact - Jerry

   2. Greatest Greening Grant (award pending)

      1. Applied for funding to support planting efforts at the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge to help with recovery efforts

   3. Cigarette Litter Prevention and Recycling Grant (award pending)

      1. Applied for funding to support cigarette receptacles in Rutherfordton parks

      2. "This is an ashtray, this is not an ashtray" messaging campaign - Lindy

2. Spring Programs

   1. Outreach Events

      1. Earth Day Storytime

      2. ICC Science Complex Opening

      3. ICC Science Expo

      4. RecycleBot Challenge Visits

   2. RecycleBot Challenge

      1. RB Challenge at the Library

         1. Partnered with the Rutherford County Library to host the challenge in person

         2. Big thank you to Amber and the library staff for all of their help, and for making the RecycleBots come to life!

      2. RB Challenge Results

         1. 88 third graders

         2. Nine categories (group submission was new this year), these were our top submissions selected by judges in each category

         3. Kidsenses Museum Passes, Chimney Rock State Park passes, Scoop Ice Cream Passes, and participation prizes for all students

         4. Need for a debrief with partners and judges?

            1. Sending out survey to gather feedback

            2. Ban spray paint next year

   3. Spring Litter Sweep

      1. 17 sweeps, 190 volunteers, over 3,100 POUNDS of litter

      2. Some returning teams, and some new

      3. A few teams covered the top priority litter index roads, including Painter’s Gap Road, Plaza Drive, Ellenboro Henrietta, etc.

      4. NCDOT picked up 29 roads

      5. TDA paid pick-up in the works

         1. Moss Road suggested - Dr. Brock Hefflin

   4. Greatest American Cleanup Events

      1. GAC Spindale volunteers collected over 200 pounds of litter from the Thermal Belt Rail Trail and North Slope Skate Park in partnership with the Town of Spindale

      2. Cliffside Community Cleanup Day volunteers cleaned up over 100 pounds of litter and planted new greenery around the Cliffside sign

   5. Green Scholarship

      1. Casse McFarland 

         1. Jenna attended ceremony on Thursday at East Rutherford

         2. Video: Video - Casse McFarland.mp4

      2. Delaney Kitner 

         1. ROC and Maria from BRWA attending ceremony at TJCA on May 17th at 3 p.m. (other committee members welcome for photo op)

         2. Video: Video - Delaney Kitner.mov

3. New Business

   1. Sustainable Fashion Show by the Rutherford County Library

      1. Judging at the Rutherford County Library on July 24th at 6:30 p.m.

      2. Seeking one more judge to represent KRCB

         1. Jenna is signed up!

   2. YouthWorks

      1. High school service groups seeking projects in June and July

      2. Cleghorn Creek clean-ups, pollinator garden work, and any priority areas after volunteer, NCDOT, and paid-pickups are complete, any others?

         1. Invasive removal recommended by Lindy

   3. Call for any other topics

      1. Be bear aware PSA - Clark

      2. Litter Bowl and Green Scholarship announcements in August

4. Upcoming Schedule

   1. Pollinator Garden Workday - May 20th at 5:30 p.m.

   2. Spring River Sweep - May 30th at 9 a.m.

   3. Sustainable Fashion Show - July 24th at 6:30 p.m.

   4. Full Committee Meeting - July 28th at 12 p.m.