Congratulations to our 2024 Massachusetts Clean Community Award Winners!
The Massachusetts Clean Community Awards recognize volunteers, nonprofit leaders, government leaders, businesses, and municipal partners for exceptional environmental protection and community cleanup efforts. Nominations for the 2025 Massachusetts Clean Community Awards are now open. Submit a nomination today!
We presented our 2024 Clean Community Awards at the Village Hall on the Common in Framingham on May 15, 2025. It was a pleasure to bring so many caring environmental and community service heroes together for one evening.
If you were unable to attend our most recent awards presentation, please view our photo gallery.
A special thanks to our emcee, WCVB Chief Meteorologist Cindy Fitzgibbon, who filmed a Channel 5 Eye Opener Wake Up Call with attendees.
Our 2024 class of Massachusetts Clean Community Award winners included:
Porter Shaffer, Youth Volunteer of the Year
2024 KMB Youth Volunteer of the Year: Porter Shaffer of Keep Wakefield Beautiful
This award recognizes youths under the age of 21 for outstanding volunteer work on behalf of a local Keep Massachusetts Beautiful chapter or a related group that focuses on litter prevention & cleanup, waste reduction & recycling, beautification & community greening, or environmental education.
Porter founded the Warrior Cleanup Crew in Wakefield, which last year rebranded itself as Keep Wakefield Beautiful. With Porter’s guidance, the crew has organized and hosted 9 community cleanups.
Porter doesn’t just lead by example; he actively encourages others to be good stewards of the Earth. Whether it’s organizing cleanup events, collecting donations to support these efforts, or calling out littering when he sees it, Porter embodies the values of individual responsibility and care for the environment.
Porter’s commitment and leadership at such a young age are nothing short of inspiring, and we are confident that he will continue to do tremendous good for the health of our planet. His efforts remind us all that one person, no matter how young, can make a significant difference.
Congratulations to Porter Shaffer, a 2024 KMB Youth Volunteer of the Year!
Jayden Harris
2024 KMB Youth Volunteer of the Year: Jayden Harris of Keep Natick Beautiful
At the age of 10, Jayden already has three years of service under his belt with Keep Natick Beautiful. Jayden likes the tough jobs. He goes "Beyond the Guard Rail" and digs out trash and large objects like broken highway signs, bulky litter thrown down the embankments, and steel posts half buried in mud and debris.
Every week, Jayden goes out with his Aunt Jenny (another Keep Natick Beautiful superstar) to clean up in West Natick. This includes highly littered areas and busy state roads, such as Route 135 and near the high-tension wires in the power corridor, where people routinely dump tires, lawnmowers, furniture, mattresses, and other litter.
Keep Natick Beautiful is so fortunate to have Jayden on their team, setting a great example for other young people in the community.
Congratulations to Jayden Harris, a 2024 KMB Youth Volunteer of the Year!
Mike Tarselli, KMB Litter Buster of the Year
2024 KMB Litter Buster of the Year #1: Mike Tarselli of Keep Framingham Beautiful
This award recognizes an individual Massachusetts volunteer for his or her efforts to prevent and/or clean up litter in their community. It’s for those unsung heroes who do the dirty work of cleaning up other people’s messes.
Mike Tarselli has a passion for litter cleanups and every week he goes all over the city and dives into some of the most trashed, littered and messy areas.
“Marvelous Mike” is also known for the specificity with which he counts his cleanups. He has counted each bag that he has picked up in his 4+ years as a KFB member and is up to nearly 2,000 bags, 442 of which were from 2024 alone! It’s hard to imagine anyone busting more litter in a year than that!
When Mike discovered a very polluted pond that should have taken dozens of folks to clean up, do you think Mike shied away from the job alone? Nope! He got right to work and went back day after day pulling out office furniture, shopping carts, tires, and many cases of beer bottles until the pond looked infinitely better than when he found it. He was so persistent in his efforts to clean this waterway that it has since been dubbed “Tarselli Pond.”
Mike also involves his daughter in his litter pickups, preparing her to be an environmental steward of the future!
Thank you, Mike, and congratulations on being named a KMB 2024 Litter Buster of the Year!
Jill Hall and Anne Masse, KMB Litter Busters of the Year
2024 KMB Litter Buster of the Year #2: Jill Hall & Anne Masse of Keep Randolph Beautiful
Jill has been a leader in growing participation in Keep Randolph Beautiful and organizing group cleanups. Jill, Anne, and their teammates have picked up more than 2,000 pounds of trash over the past year and have been recognized by the Randolph Town Council.
Rain or shine, Anne Masse can be seen out cleaning up litter, including public spaces such as Crawford Square and Belcher Park. By inspiring other residents to be proud of Randolph, Anne has helped to create a cleaner, greener Randolph. She volunteers her time each and every day and is a true Litter Buster!
Thank you, Jill and Anne, and congratulations on being named 2024 KMB Litter Busters of the Year!
Debbie Belek and Cindy Bowles, KMB Litter Busters of the Year
2024 KMB Litter Busters of the Year #3: Debbie Belek & Cindy Rowles of Keep Plainville Beautiful
Debbie and Cindy started walking together in 2017. Over time, as they walked, they would comment about the amount of litter they were seeing along the streets. One day, Cindy uttered the prophetic words, “instead of just complaining about the trash, let’s do something about it.”
Starting in 2019 they began to bring bags with them on their walks and started cleaning up. As the number of heavy trash bags grew, Debbie came up with the idea of bringing a wagon to help transport the bags as they walked. They both bought grabbers, gloves, and vests to make their job safer. They have since picked up countless bags of everything imaginable.
They have both fallen, gotten poison ivy, bug bites, scratches, and scrapes, but they have had lots of laughs, too. While it can be discouraging at times to see trash along the streets that they had previously cleaned up, they keep on going because it makes them happy to channel their energy toward doing something positive for the community.
Thank you, Debbie and Cindy, and congratulations on being named 2024 KMB Litter Busters of the Year!
Cathy Horn, KMB Chapter Leader of the Year
2024 KMB Chapter Leader of the Year: Cathy Horn of Keep Hyde Park Beautiful
This award recognizes an established KMB chapter leader for outstanding achievement and leadership.
In 2014, Cathy joined forces with other residents in her neighborhood to start a litter patrol group. The group met at a neighborhood street intersection on the first Saturday of every month to clean up litter in the neighborhood and nearby parks.
These early successes inspired Cathy to launch a Keep Hyde Park Beautiful chapter in 2017, which has since blossomed into a force of positive energy that has 20+ committee members, along with countless volunteers who have participated in community cleanup and beautification events.
In the eight years that Keep Hyde Park Beautiful has been cleaning and greening area neighborhoods, Cathy has grown in her role as a leader. She has reached out to local municipal and political leaders to turn her vision of a cleaner, greener, litter-free Hyde Park into reality.
In 2024 alone, Cathy and members of the Keep Hyde Park Beautiful leadership team coordinated 16 cleanup events and one fix-it clinic. They also partnered with the Hyde Park library to sponsor educational classes on pollination and invasive species, and with Hyde Park Main Streets to beautify local streets with flower planters. Cathy also applies for grants to fund the upkeep of local parks and recently landed a $5,000 grant from the City of Boston.
Congratulations to Cathy Horn, our 2024 Chapter Leader of the Year!
Rep. Kate Lipper-Garabedian, KMB Environmental Legislator of the Year.
2024 KMB Environmental Legislator of the Year: Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian
This award recognizes a Massachusetts legislator for his or her efforts to protect or enhance the Massachusetts environment.
Representative Lipper-Garabedian helps spearhead two Recycling and Sustainability Days in her district, one in Melrose and one in Wakefield. These events encourage residents to learn more about local, state, and national recycling initiatives and teach residents how to manage their waste responsibly.
Previously, as a Melrose City Councilor, Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian supported ordinances aimed at curbing the use of plastic straws and polystyrene products. She also has consistently championed the conservation and sustainability efforts of Keep Melrose Beautiful and Zero Waste Melrose.
Representative Lipper-Garabedian also serves as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature's Zero Waste Caucus, whose members are working to reduce solid waste in Massachusetts through legislative and regulatory action, state and local collaboration and education.
Congratulations again to Representative Kate Lipper-Garabedian, our 2024 Environmental Legislator of the Year!
Nicole Blank, accepting the KMB Business Partner of the Year award on behalf of Starbucks.
2024 Business Partner of the Year: Starbucks
This award recognizes a Massachusetts business for its efforts to collaborate with Keep Massachusetts Beautiful to clean up and beautify a specific community and/or our entire state.
Over the past two years, the Framingham Starbucks store has collaborated with Keep Framingham Beautiful on five local litter cleanups.
Sixty employee volunteers from Starbucks’ Framingham, Sudbury, Wayland, Marlborough, Southborough and Natick locations have pitched in to clean up along Route 9 in Framingham, removing more than 750 pounds of litter from the local roadsides.
Starbucks has also provided $3,000 in financial support to Keep Framingham Beautiful via local store donations and the Starbucks Neighborhood Grant program. These neighborhood grants help build sustained local impact and inspire Starbucks employees to engage with local nonprofits.
Thank you to Starbucks for taking action to make Framingham and Massachusetts a cleaner, greener place to live, work, and drink coffee, and congratulations on being named our 2024 Business Partner of the Year!
Mansfield Department of Public Works, KMB Municipal Partner of the Year
2024 Municipal Partner of the Year: Mansfield Department of Public Works
This award recognizes a municipal leader, such as a Select Board member, DPW employee, Sustainability Manager, or Board of Health member, for extraordinary efforts to implement sustainable practices and clean up or protect the local environment.
Stretching back all the way to 2008, the Mansfield DPW has worked side by side with Keep Mansfield Beautiful to clean up and beautify the town by:
- Picking up bags of litter collected by residents as part of the Adopt-a-Street program and other cleanup events
- Collecting and disposing of the 40+ tons of trash collected over the course of the past 18 Great Mansfield Cleanup events
- Transporting and placing 120 flower barrels along Mansfield’s North Main Street every year
- Facilitating the priming and placement of more than 40 artistically painted trash barrels as part of Keep Mansfield Beautiful’s Trash Can Be Beautiful program
Congratulations to the Mansfield Department of Public Works for being named our 2024 Municipal Partner of the Year!
Thank you to all the unsung volunteers across our state who do so much to keep Massachusetts beautiful!
- Nominations for the 2025 Massachusetts Clean Community Awards are now open. Submit a nomination today!
