Mayor Louise Carter-King, I accept your challenge.
And, as part of National Hospital Week (May 10-16, 2015), I'm challenging all CCH employees to help keep Gillette beautiful by participating in the Coal Country Trash-A-Thon on Saturday, May 9.
It's easy for you to participate as a hospital employee, or as a community member.
Keep Gillette Beautiful (KGB), a local chapter of Keep America Beautiful, has blocked off an area for CCH employees to clean—from Burma Avenue, to Second Street, down Stocktrail Avenue to Eighth Street, up Tyler Avenue to Sixth Street and back to Burma Avenue. Please know that all community groups are welcome to contact KGB and claim their own section to clean that day.
For CCH employees, there will be a staging area by the hospital loading dock from 9-10 am, where you can pick up gloves, trash bags and get a map of the area we are collecting trash. I encourage you to go out with your co-workers or department, or bring your family with you to help. All employees who participate will be entered in a drawing for free coffee cards. When you're done bagging the trash you pick up, leave the bag on the side of the road—we'll arrange to get it picked up.
Now, I realize that we have a large area to clean, but we have more than a thousand employees who I know are up to the task. CCH believes that keeping our grounds around all of our facilities clean from trash or debris is a priority—so much so it's included as part of our Standards of Excellence, which every employee is expected to follow. Our Standards are the guide that we are following on our journey to Excellence Every Day. I'm sure there are other organizations in our community with similar expectations.
This is the third year that the Coal Country Trash-A-Thon has been held, and I can see how much it's helped our community. Join me, and other CCH employees, and help keep Gillette beautiful.
Note: If you can't participate at the CCH pick-up location from 9-10 am, you are encouraged to go out to the Coal Country Trash-A-Thon staging area from 9 am-noon at the CAM-PLEX parking lot, 1635 Reata Drive the same day. Check out the event on
Facebook to see community leaders "trash talking" (aka encouraging) other community members to participate.
Andy