TEXARKANA - Multiple organizations have joined forces in and around Texarkana to establish an anti-litter campaign for the region. The fledgling group has had one preliminary meeting and plans to bring a larger group together in May. The vision of the campaign is to "make Texarkana clean, neat, green and pretty."
"There have been comments in various forums over the past several months that litter has gotten a bit out of hand in parts of Texarkana," said Jennifer Harland, 2021 chamber board chairman. "People have noticed a rise in litter, especially in discarded masks, takeout boxes from restaurants and the like."
Organizations involved include Texarkana Regional Chamber of Commerce and both Texarkanas.
"We are applying immediate action," Harland said. "Emphasizing picking up litter in the short term. Long term, it will be education. Aiming for ages groups K-12. Build new networks focused on keeping Texarkana beautiful. Collaborate with other organizations to accomplish this."
At the first meeting, the challenge was, "What would it look like if there was no litter in Texarkana?" The conversation around this question was robust.
To create successful collaborations the initiative will utilize a tactical approach embraced by the Leadership Texarkana program.
"Strategic Doing teaches people how to form effective collaborations quickly and to move them toward measurable outcomes in a lean and agile fashion," Harland said. "This is more than a community pride initiative, it encourages economic development and prosperity for our region."
The next meeting will be in May. Anyone interested in attending and contributing to the effort should contact Natalie Haywood at [email protected] by May 1. Groups interested in the project may be schools, religious organizations, retail businesses, restaurants, media, neighborhood organizations, businesses, industry, and so on.
"Not only do we want to improve the appearance of our city, this is important in the impression we leave with visitors to Texarkana," Harland said. "We want people who visit us to leave with a good impression of us. Also, we want businesses considering moving here to see us in our best light."
(Information on the campaign is available at 819 North State Line Avenue, Texarkana, Texas or 903-792-7191. Questions can be directed to the chamber's Natalie Haywood at [email protected].)