“You only have one chance to make a good first impression,” Tyler Shookman said as he looked through the streets of Owensboro.
Shookman said there are some good features and areas that are beautiful, and he wants to keep the city just that — and even better.
Keep Owensboro Beautiful bloomed from the Leadership Owensboro organization, where Shookman and four other members began brainstorming ways to help the community.
One of the ways they want to accomplish this is by implementing projects like community gardens and partnering with people to plant flowers across neighborhoods that they think may need a makeover.
As the group has grown its following, Shookman noted people come with energy and want to help. Going from five board members to now 100 supporters, he has heard comments about projects that the community is rearing to get behind.
One of those is recycling and how to better educate the community on how to do so. He referenced how Habitat for Humanity collects aluminum cans to benefit families building homes with Habitat.
“Why isn’t everyone collecting aluminum cans? Instead, they end up in the trash, and our landfill, so we could start small and work from there,” Shookman said.
During a presentation, Somer Dunaway, one of the board members, said that many people don’t know what materials are recyclable. She said the group wants to start there and educate about what is recyclable and the importance of recycling.
Nonetheless, Shookman noted that when it comes to recycling, it’s going to be a “marathon, not a sprint.” Though there will be some difficulty, to him, it’s something that everyone should be able to rally behind.
“It doesn’t matter what political party you’re a part of, what background you’re from. It’s something everyone in our city can rally behind and support because it helps all of us,” Shookman said.
When it came to presenting their project to Mayor Tom Watson, Shookman said it was beneficial to have Watson tell his group about the difficulty that may come with the project. Even though they know about the challenge, they continue to move forward looking into making partnerships with local businesses and organizations.
Shookman said in the coming weeks they will be coming out with more information on how to get involved and places to volunteer throughout the community through social media and other outreach methods.
