April 6, 2023 | Keep Chickasha Beautiful

 

The Rotary Club of Chickasha met Thursday, April 6, 2023. Rotarian Mitch Williams led the club in singing "What a Wonderful World".

 

The club acknowledged the passing of Judy Duprez, wife of Rotarian Conrad Duprez. Per Conrad's request, in lieu of flowers, the club moved to donate $100 to the Emergency Food Pantry in Chickasha. The club also facilitated additional donations from individual members.

 

Rotarian Gerron Smith delivered an update on the Rotary Run fundraiser. Volunteers are still needed for the run, and Gerron encouraged members to reach out to other organizations that might be looking for volunteer work. The $10,000 sponsorship goal was reached at the meeting.

 

The Rotarian of the Day was Ed Stanton. For the program, Jim Cowan presented on behalf of Keep Chickasha Beautiful.

 

Keep Chickasha Beautiful was launched as a campaign in 2020. Despite some initial resistance, the program has now grown into its own committee. Volunteers meet at local parks to do cleanups each month, and the committee hosted a video contest for Earth Day. The principle of the campaign is that taking pride in the appearance of our community is important, not just for quality of life but for economic growth and tourism.

 

Importantly, Jim said, the city has been involved in the project. The committee has worked with the Community Development office to implement changes in city ordinances that strengthen the city's ability to pressure negligent property owners. Both the committee and the city understand that there is a distinction between being unable to maintain one's property and simply not caring—the code changes are targeted at the latter only.

 

The annual Spring Cleanup Days are coming up in May. As in previous iterations, city residents can haul large, bulk trash to the Public Works Department for disposal without charge. This time, they have also expanded what can be disposed of, though certain items are still not allowed.