FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 30, 2014
CONTACT: Mayor Laurie R. Gill, (605) 773-7407
Mayor Gill Announces Fifth Annual “Go Green” Campaign
PIERRE, S.D. – Pierre Mayor Laurie Gill announced today the kickoff meeting for the City of Pierre “Go Green and Clean” campaign. The campaign, now in its 5th year, was first organized in 2010 by Mayor Gill as a “call to citizens to volunteer” and give back to the community. The kickoff meeting will be held February 5th at 9 AM at City hall and Gill says this is a call to community service to prepare the City for the many guests and visitors we welcome each year, “Our community is expanding and we in government have a responsibility to keep the public lands under our trust clean and sustainable. City staff do a great job and I am proud of our efforts but at times we can only do so much. Therefore, I am asking the citizens, organizations and business leaders of Pierre to join me. Together we will make a greater impact in this effort.” said Gill.
The Go Green and Clean campaign is a year round event and activities are broken down into the four different seasons of the year. In the spring, the campaign focus is on cleaning up after the long winter. In 2013 over twenty community agencies and organizations collaborated with the City. Activities ranged from several road right of way clean ups, to painting park structures and a Lake Sharpe clean up that netted over two tons of debris and trash.
However Gill says activities are more than just picking up trash, “We coordinate with business leaders, media, the public schools, PILC, the Discovery Center, Boys and Girls Club and State of South Dakota to offer educational events, Arbor Day programs and teach our youth how to be conservation minded.” Gill says several groups have already started to plan, “Staff have been helping with coordination efforts and we are hoping to expand our business sector involvement” said Gill. Last year, Bankwest was named the Go Green Business of the year for their efforts and activities in the community that involved many of their bank employees.
Gill says the City is always looking for new Go Green initiatives and partnerships. Citizens with an interest in the campaign can learn more by attending the February 5th meeting at City hall, by calling Tom Farnsworth, Director of Parks and Recreation at 773-2527 or by going on line to www.cityofpierre.org and reading more about the Go Green and Clean campaign.