About Clean and Beautiful

SUPPORTERS, SPONSORS & VOLUNTEERS

Ace Hardware of Blue Ridge
Appalachian Waste Systems (AWS)
Aska Adventure Area
Benton MacKaye Trail Association
Blue Ridge Business Association
Blue Ridge Kiwanis Club
Blue Ridge Mountain Adventure Race LLC.
Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association
Blue Ridge Mountain EMC
Blue Ridge Scenic Railway
Boy Scouts of America, Local Troops
City of Blue Ridge Police Department
City of McCaysville
Cycle South 
Clear Blue Springs / Mountain Spring Water
Cub Scouts Pack 31
Fannin County Board of Commissioners 
Fannin County Board of Education
Fannin County Chamber of Commerce
Fannin County EMS / Fire / Rescue
Fannin County Board of Recreation
Fannin County Environmental
  Compliance
Fannin County Sheriffs Department
Fannin Lodging & Hospitality Association
Georgia Highway Patrol
Hands On Massage 
Historic Preservation Consulting
Lake Blue Ridge Marina 
Lake Blue Ridge Water Sports Club
Ridgeway Package 
Rolling Thunder River Company
Shallowford Bridge Tube Rental
Shallowford River Shack
Sierra Club
SORBA
Soulshine Cafe
Southern Off Road Bicycle Association
Stanley Creek Excavating 
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Toccoa River Muskrats
Toccoa River Watch 
Toccoa Riverside Restaurant, 
Toccoa Valley Campground
Tri-City Business Association
Trout Unlimited
United Community Bank of McCaysville
US Forest Service, Toccoa Rangers
  District, Chattahoochee National Forest.
X-Treme Teens

MEDIA PARTNERS

Mountain Country 103.9 FM
The Basin Prospector
The News Observer
WLSB 1400AM

The 2000 Rivers

Alive Event

2002 RIVERS ALIVE PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Fannin County Chamber of
  Commerce Rivers Alive Committee 
or

Elaine Dilbeck, Fannin County Chamber
   of Commerce Membership Services
   and Events Coordinator706-632-5680

FANNIN COUNTY VOLUNTEERS TO CLEAN UP TOCCOA RIVER AS PART OF CONTINUING STATEWIDE CAMPAIGN TO PRESERVE GEORGIA'S WATERWAYS

Tri-State Area, September 28, 2002 - North Georgia area residents will wade into the Toccoa River in late September as part of the continuing statewide campaign to clean and preserve Georgia's 70,150 miles of rivers and streams. The effort will be part of Rivers Alive, the Eleventh Annual Georgia River Cleanup, which is expected to once again be the largest single volunteer effort to beautify Georgia's water resources.

Volunteers in The Tennessee Watershed of Fannin County will stage their cleanup from 8 am to 5 pm on Saturday, September 28. Those interested in the Lower Toccoa River Area will meet at Rolling Thunder on Highway 60 near McCaysville. Volunteers ready to help with the Upper Toccoa will meet at Shallowford River Shack, 8 miles out Aska Road. They will be joining an estimated 20,000 other volunteers statewide participating in the Annual River Cleanup. During the month of October over 100 other cleanups will collect trash and other debris in streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands from the Coosa River in North Georgia to the Okefenokee Swamp in the South.

"This Years Rivers Alive Cleanup will be bigger and better than ever. It's lots of fun to meet neighbors and pick up trash", said Matt Claypool, Chairman of the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce Clean & Beautiful Committee. "Volunteers get a free Rivers Alive T-Shirt, lunch, special prizes, and spring water to wet your whistle." In addition, the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce volunteers, Benton MacKaye TrailAssociation, Better Hometown Program, Blue Ridge Kiwanis, Blue Ridge Mountain Adventure Race, LLC, Blue Ridge Business and Professional Association, Blue Ridge Mountain Arts Association, Boy Scouts of America, Fannin Lodging & Hospitality Association, Keep America Beautiful Program, Keep Georgia Beautiful Program, Lake Blue Ridge Watersports Club, Sierra Club, SORBA, Toccoa River Watch, Tri-Cities Business Association, Trout Unlimited, X-Treme Teens, and many others are pulling together to Keep Fannin Clean and Beautiful.

This year's local sponsors, supporters, and volunteers are Ace Hardware of Blue Ridge, Appalachian Waste Systems, Aska Adventure Area, Blue Ridge, Appalachian Waste Systems, Blue Ridge Mountain EMC, Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, Chattahoochee National Forest Toccoa Rangers District, Clear Blue Springs/ Mountain Spring Water, City of Blue Ridge Police Department, City of McCaysville, Cycle South, Fannin County Board of Commissioners, Fannin County Board of Education, Fannin County Board of Recreation, Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, Fannin County EMS/Fire/Rescue, Fannin County Environmental Compliance, Fannin County Sheriff's Department, Georgia Highway Patrol, Hands-On Massage, Historic Preservation Consulting, Lake Blue Ridge Marina, Ridgeway Package Store, Rolling Thunder River Company, Shallowford Bridge Tube Rentals, Stanley Creek Excavating, Shallowford River Shack, Soulshine Caf, Toccoa Valley Campground, Toccoa River Muskrats, TVA, United Community Bank of McCaysville, and you.

During 2001's River Cleanup, more than 18,000 volunteers cleaned over 650 miles of waterways and removed 120,000 pounds of trash and garbage including, refrigerators, cars, furniture, and even a kid's bike from the State's waterways, according to Harold Harbert, Coordinator of Georgia Adopt-A-Stream. Harbert expects this year's River Cleanup to involve hundreds more volunteers and to continue to be the State's largest volunteer effort to beautify Georgia's water resources. The cleanup aims to create awareness of and involvement in the preservation of Georgia's water resources.

Corporate sponsors include AT&T, BASF, Beers Skanska, BellSouth, Canon USA, Inc., Clean Water Campaign, The Coca-Cola Company, CVS Pharmacy, Inc, Direct Access International, Georgia Electrical Membership Corporation, Georgia Pacific, The Home Depot, International Paper, Meadwestvaco Coated Board Division, Miller Brewing Company, Mohawk Industries, Inc, Oglethorpe Power Corporation, Plum Creek Timber Company, Inc, Six Continents Hotels, United Parcel Service, Inc. and Waste Management. Contributors to Rivers Alive include Jameson Inns and Ford Motor Company.

Other sponsors of the statewide campaign include: Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, Georgia Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division, Keep Georgia Beautiful and Affiliates, Georgia Department of Community Affairs, Altamaha Riverkeeper, Bellsouth Pioneers, Columbus Waterworks/Oxbow Meadows Environmental Learning Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Georgia Forestry Commission, Georgia Wildlife Federation, Lake Lanier Shore Sweep, Peavine Watershed Alliance, Georgia Project WET/River of Words, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Dozens of other local organizations will be sponsoring individual cleanups around the State.

To volunteer for the Toccoa River below the Dam or the Toccoa River upstream of Lake Blue Ridge cleanup, contact The Fannin County Chamber of Commerce Clean and Beautiful Committee at (706)632-5680 or E-Mail chamber@blueridgemountains.com. For more information about efforts in other areas or the statewide campaign, call 404-675-1636 or go to www.riversalive.org. For local information, visit  www.blueridgemountains.com and click on Rivers Alive. Remember, together we do make a difference!

Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, Clean and Beautiful2003 Rivers Alive Clean-Up, Saturday, Date TBD The Fannin County Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce Phase III, "Rivers Alive Clean-Up",  This year's comprehensive  environmental cleanup includes the entire Tennessee Watershed within Fannin County!  This year all of Fannin County started to pitch in to keep Fannin Beautiful.   Early in the season, the Tri-Cities Business Association sponsored Pick and Shovel Days in the City of McCaysville.  Shortly thereafter, the Lake Blue Ridge Water Sports Club sponsored the Lake Blue Ridge Clean-Up.  As in previous years, a flotilla of watercraft scoured our shoreline keeping the lake clean and beautiful..  The Phase III clean up areas are currently as follows: Aska Adventure Area, Toccoa River & Toccoa River Canoe Trail, Aska Trails Area, Lake Blue Ridge, Tennessee Valley Authority Lands, Benton MacKaye Trail, US Forest Service, Chattahoochee National Forest Lands  Fannin County roads and parks within the Tennessee Watershed and Private Properties with owners consent. Other limitations apply. If you or your group has a special interest area to clean up; give the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce a call to add it to the list (706) 632-5680. Each volunteer is eligible for a "Rivers Alive" T-shirt and special prizes.