Trashercise founder Aubrey Preston
Governor Bill Lee has once again designated March as Keep Tennessee Beautiful month. To officially kick-off the local activities, Keep Cleveland & Bradley County Beautiful will host a city-wide/county-wide Trashercise event on March 8-9. Keep Tennessee Beautiful Executive Director Missy Marshall will participate in the cleanup, along with Trashercise founder Aubrey Preston.
Meetup for the cleanup event is at 8:30 a.m. EST, March 9 at the Cleveland Family YMCA at 220 Urbane Rd NE, Cleveland, TN 37312. Mr. Preston and Ms. Marshall will meet with volunteers at the site to “warm up” before heading out to various areas to pick up trash.
Mr. Preston will also be the special guest speaker at the KCBCB Great American Luncheon at noon on Friday, March 8 at the Museum and Cultural Center at 5ive Points.
“We are grateful to Gov. Lee for continuing to support March as Keep Tennessee Beautiful Month,” Executive Director Missy Marshall, KTnB, said. “This is definitely a celebration, but it’s also a call to action. We’re grateful to Keep Cleveland & Bradley County Beautiful for organizing the Trashercise events and encourage everyone to come out and have some fun picking up trash. Let’s all contribute and help Keep Tennessee Beautiful.”
Trashercise is a statewide campaign directed by KTnB, originally founded by Cleveland native Mr. Preston. The program encourages communities to start their own Trashercise Tribe and is designed to rally everyday citizens by encouraging litter pick-up while promoting the exercise benefits of the activity.
“We’re honored that Keep Tennessee Beautiful has decided to adopt Trashercise and do something big with it,” said Mr. Preston, an entrepreneur, avid preservationist and community builder. “We’re excited to be part of these events in my hometown.”
Mr. Preston also started the Leiper’s Fork Preservation movement in 1994, helped save historic RCA Studio A on Music Row in Nashville, and developed the multi-state music trail the Americana Music Triangle.
KCBCB Interim Director Allen Mincey encouraged volunteers in the community to get involved on March 9, join the group at the YMCA, and then go out and help make Cleveland and Bradley County “even more beautiful.”
“We’ve already had some industries and companies, some churches and youth groups tell us they want to be involved, not only with Trashercise, but throughout the entire year,” Mr. Mincey said. "This is Cleveland and Bradley County being a part of the Great American Cleanup for 2024.”
Keep Cleveland and Bradley County Beautiful is a Keep America Beautiful affiliate. The organization’s mission is to educate and inspire citizens to take action every day to improve and beautify the community’s environment.
To join the Trashercise movement, visit Cleveland Cleanup.