BUFORD, GA - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hartwell Project and the Lake Hartwell Association were among several organizations that received an award by Rivers Alive at the “2006 Outstanding Waterway Cleanup and Leadership Awards.” The ceremony was held at the Gwinnett (GA) Environmental and Heritage Center in Buford Georgia on March 7. Rivers Alive is Georgia's annual volunteer waterway cleanup event that targets all waterways in the State including streams, rivers, lakes, beaches and wetlands. The mission of Rivers Alive is to create awareness of and involvement in the preservation of Georgia's water resources.

The awards event recognizes organizations for significant contributions to the most recent “Clean-up Campaign.” The Campaign at Hartwell Lake is managed by the Corps of Engineers and Ranger Tanya Grant. LHA is proud to support the Corps and the effort, through various activities including managing and sponsoring the “Volunteer Appreciation Picnic” for all those who participated as well as collecting hundreds of door prizes for distribution at the picnic.

Over the past several years, the clean up has averaged 625 volunteer participants who gather litter from around Hartwell Lake and bring it to various Corps designated site for pick-up and disposal. While it is difficult to measure the amount of waste and debris collected, estimates put it at many tons. In 2006, Ranger Tanya Grant, who headed the effort for the Corps, also had a goal to increase the number of volunteers participating. This was accomplished by revising picnic announcements and communication, adding extra gifts and prizes to participants and providing additional activities at the picnic. LHA also had the picnic catered by Sonny’s Barbeque of Anderson. The additional effort resulted in an increase in participants to 884 for 2006, a 40% increase of over 250 people.

The award by Rivers Alive was presented to the area that had the most participant groups assisting in their campaign. LHA and the Corps are proud of the effort of all the people that helped make this years campaign a huge success. LHA would also like to extend a special thanks to Tanya Grant for the outstanding job she did in 2006.