Keep Houston Beautiful Wins National Conservation Award
Group is One of Eight National Winners of 2002 ChevronTexaco Conservation Awards

HOUSTON, October 15, 2002 -- For their model programs to prevent urban litter, reduce crime and rejuvenate neighborhoods, Keep Houston Beautiful (KHB) today was named one of eight winners of the 48th annual ChevronTexaco Conservation Awards.

"Through the efforts of Keep Houston Beautiful we have actually improved the quality of life in our city," said Lee P. Brown, Mayor, City of Houston. "We are proud that they have been honored by ChevronTexaco." Since it began in 1977, KHB has conducted an amazing 2,600 cleanups involving 121,000 volunteers to pick up 13,000 tons of litter. Thousands participate in KHB programs, such as Adopt-a-Block, the Great American Cleanup and the Youth Environmental Conference. Attendance topped 9,000 at this year's Little Kids' Litter Party, which brings conservation lessons to young Houstonians.

An acclaimed KHB program called Keep Five Alive is credited with revitalizing the City's 5th Ward. This success resulted in the Clean Neighborhoods program, now a national model for reviving neighborhoods. As part of the program, patrols report illegal dumping, overgrown lots are landscaped, and youths create murals to eliminate graffiti. The program is now in 14 Houston neighborhoods.

"We'd like Houston to become known as the cleanest city in America. And we' re going to do that by empowering people to take responsibility for their own environment," said Robin Blut, Executive Director of Keep Houston Beautiful.

Winners will be honored at a ceremony on September 26, 2002 at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. More than 1,000 volunteers, professionals and organizations have received this award since it was founded in 1954 by the late Ed Zern, a nationally recognized sportsman, humorist and author. ChevronTexaco Conservation Award recipients have helped create wildlife refuges and preserves, protect species, establish park and recreation areas, and, overall, heighten environmental awareness. The ChevronTexaco Conservation Awards was previously called the Chevron Conservation Awards. The new name reflects the recent merger between Chevron and Texaco.