Kenny Rodgers would definitely fold up and walk away from this gamble: One local chapter earns the top award from a national organization four times in the last 10 years.
But he’d be leaving money on the table if the organization in question is Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, which just brought home its fourth Iron Eyes Cody Award since 2013.
Named for the iconic “crying Indian” in the 1970s television commercial, the Iron Eyes Cody Award is Keep America Beautiful’s top award for individual achievement. The 2012 winner was Jim Igler; the most recent is Stan Kroh, who has been a KTBB volunteer for at least 25 years.
Most recently elected as president of its board of trustees, Kroh has been a volunteer for so long that he no longer remembers exactly when he joined. “It was a million years ago,” he quips.
While working at the Environmental Protection Commission of Hillsborough County, he first signed up for a Hillsborough River clean-up. He started organizing educational events and then served on the environmental committee for what was then known as the Mayor’s Beautification Program.
“Stan’s been here even longer than I have, and I’ve been here 21 years,” says Debbie Everson, KTBB executive director. “He’s a great leader but he’s also just as likely to jump in and get dirty.”
Now the manager of lands and stewardship programs for TECO, Kroh continued to serve on the environmental education committee until he was asked to serve on the board of trustees and then elected president last fall. “They’re giving me credit for everything that we accomplished last year but it really was a team effort.”
One of his favorite accomplishments is the trash-free water initiative in which over 28,000 volunteers removed more than 780,000 pounds of trash from local waterways. Last year alone, more than 7,000 volunteers participated in 225 clean-up projects collecting nearly 170,000 pounds of trash along 423 miles of shoreline.
Invasive plants have been another priority for Kroh, with more than 120,000 pounds removed since 2015, including nearly 26,000 pounds last year.
Taking out the invasive species and adding native species adds up to a healthier ecosystem, Kroh said. “It’s challenging physical work but well worth it when you know that the future of this priceless little corner of natural Florida is in better shape now than it was when these volunteers unpacked their gear.”
Along with KTBB, Kroh is the immediate past president of the Hillsborough Greenways Committee and an active volunteer with Tampa Audubon and the Florida Nature and Birding Festival.