Clean sidewalks, big smiles, and lending hands are seen and felt all around. Litter and debris slowly disappear and are revitalized. When citizens and visitors are walking downtown in Macon they may be in awe of the historical buildings or the beautiful nature in the parks. The trash is scarce and the streets are clean, inviting a new life into the city. What they may only sometimes notice is the hard work and effort that goes into keeping this city clean and safe.
Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful, established in 1974, is a community-driven organization that is responsible for the transformation that Macon has undergone in the past 50 years. Today, the organization stands as one of the only successful pilot programs of Keep America Beautiful while its staff and volunteers continue to work hard to clean and beautify the streets that make this city an inviting environment.
The story of Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful began with Carolyn Crayton’s vision to make Macon even more beautiful than it already was. Executive Director of Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful, Asha Ellen, regals the story of Crayton’s first visit through the birthplace of southern rock. “I was actually hoping you would ask me about our founding so I could tell you the story of how we were founded.” Ellen beamed before sharing the organization’s history. Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful began with Carolyn Crayton spotting a Macon resident’s cherry blossom trees in their garden.
“She saw the trees and immediately had her husband pull their car over to ask the… owner of the house what kind of trees they were” the executive director shared. The man told her they were Yoshino cherry trees and from this, Crayton’s enamoration with Macon’s foliage resolved her to move to Macon, according to Ellen.
Crayton made it her mission to turn all of Macon’s public spaces into beautiful scenes similar to the gentlemen’s garden. Her original goal was to plant some trees in her friend’s gardens and to plant 10,000 tulips downtown to highlight businesses and parks. However, Ellen says, even with the added greenery, Crayton stumbled onto a bigger issue. “The streets cleanliness did not match the beauty of the buildings and nature”. Crayton’s aspirations started to evolve after she realized she could do more. After noticing how the excessive litter downtown took away from the flowers’ allure, she sought a solution. This led to Crayton connecting with Keep America Beautiful which is an organization that specializes in community improvement according to the current executive director. Volunteers and staff alike sparked a movement that led to an even more drastic change in Macon’s streets.
Crayton’s dedication to Macon’s betterment mobilized the community. Her efforts set a path for the following years to be filled with hard work and an overwhelming purpose from not only Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful staff but from volunteers alike according to Asha Ellen. “It’s [Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful’s Board of Commissioners] helped us provide for this community through things like organizing litter clean-ups or the Art and Essay Contest.” The guidance of Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful’s Board of Commissioners has allowed the non-profit to create a reputation for Macon as a welcoming place to visit and live.
The organization’s executive director boasts that since their founding, the non-profit has won over 100 awards and received multiple grants. “I hate to brag on myself… I was named the Executive Director of the Year for the state by the Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation.” Ellen humbly acknowledged. Along with these accomplishments, Executive Director and Macon native, Asha Ellen, noted that one of the memories she treasures most from these cleanups is receiving a grant from Keep America Beautiful to beautify and enhance streets named after Dr. Martin Luther King.
After receiving the grant the organization committed to a tree planting project where they planted 20 trees. They later were awarded again with the same grant and this time Ellen said they decided to create a mural to honor Dr. King. “Most people don’t know this but on March 23rd, 1968 Dr. King made one of his last speaking engagements here in Macon.” Ellen shared explaining why they chose to paint a mural. “That mural project, not only is it beautiful… but it’s also historic and it’s also educational to our community.” Ellen described the venture as heartwarming and recalled that the ability to assist in the cleaning alongside volunteers filled her with pride for her city and community.
Janice Habersham, a Macon resident and volunteer, gives a volunteer’s perspective of how necessary the organization is to the cleanliness of Macon. Habersham describes her time volunteering as necessary and important. “There’s just something about volunteering.” She followed this by saying, “It’s like fellowship. I’m just someone who believes that what you put out into the world comes back to you.”
Habersham noted that she was most excited about the annual art and essay writing contest Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful hosts. “It’s encouraging to know that there are young folks in our community who care about the environment and that want to keep their city clean.” Habersham emphasized the varying opportunities to volunteer besides clean up similar to this one and suggested that potential volunteers can lend a hand in more ways than just picking up litter.
Today, Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful’s work is seen and felt throughout this city. Whether it’s the pleasantly pink cherry blossoms in the spring or the walkable sidewalks of downtown the non-profit has ensured litter-free streets year-round. Caroline Crayton’s efforts alongside the dedication of Keep Macon-Bibb Beautiful’s staff and volunteers have allowed the community improvement organization to establish a strong foundation to grow even more. And through that vision, Macon’s beauty is now able to be shared by anyone who enjoys any street or park.
