Ready for 2011!
Welcome to the Allegheny River Clean-up website! The 2011 clean-up is right around the corner. If you're looking for specific dates of the clean-up, sections of river covered, meeting times, etc, please visit our "Volunteers" page. Have a questions? Try our FAQ page, or Contact Us. We look forward to another great time this year at Warren's "extreme cleaning event of the year!"
2010 Wrap-up
First and foremost, an enormous thanks must go out to all the businesses, organizations, clubs and volunteers that came out to support the clean-up effort. Without your support, this would not be what it is.
The 2010 team of 511 volunteers donate more than 4,200 hours over 5 days to clean two tributaries and a 31-mile stretch of the Allegheny River. We've removed around 70 cubic yards of "trash", and recycled 9,560 lbs of metal (not including one Harley Davidson that has a future), 280 tires, 24 buckets of glass, 33 bags of plastic bottles and 17 bags of aluminum cans.
A complete list of our 'treasures' can be found to the left, along with the 2010 photo gallery. Please keep in mind that these pics are only of folks I ran into, and although I tried to mix up my duties to have a well-rounded collection, there were so many other people not pictured that worked very hard. If you see someone wearing a river clean-up shirt or hat, please remember to say "Thank You." Take a look at all those sponsor logos above and let them know how much you appreciate them getting involved!!
You can't beat wrapping up this effort with a delicious chicken barbecue and great live band at the Warren County Visitors Bureau. As I tried to make my way around the crowd, it was fun listening to stories of everyone's adventure on the river over 5 days. One lady found an old AO paddle in the mud, then lost it, then found it again, lol. One canoe overturned in the same exact place they did last year, trying to get the same exact piece of trash. One couple from Ohio said they got a really upbeat, positive feeling out of the entire experience, and have begun the planning process to do the same in their community.
I'm so excited to live in a community that believes in giving back, and amazed by what we can accomplish as a team if we put our minds to it! Thanks so much for all you do!
Until next year...
Piper
Work doesn’t feel like work when you’re having fun, so to that end we brought you the 2nd Annual Most Treasured Trash Awards. The 2010 awards went to:
Top of the Heap Award, "The Man that can make ANYTHING Happen": John Beard (The clean-up would not be what it is without this man, period.)
"Trashiest Person" Award: Dick Klancher (We didn't even know Dick prior to the clean-up, and he came out and worked so hard EVERY DAY, I'm talking start to finish.)
Top of the Heap Award, "Best Find": Amanda Battko and Jessica Roudybush - A Harley Davidson!!
Top of the Heap Award, "Best River Shopping Cart Maneuvering Technique": Joe Colosimo (This one speaks for itself. Awesome job out there, Joe!)
"Most Abnormal Trash" Award: Grandpa Dave Wargo ("The Scariest Baby Doll Ever!!!!!")
Top of the Heap Award, "Volunteer from the Furthest Distance": "New Mexico Mike", or Mike Chapel (Mike just walked into town and onto jet boats as if he'd been living here for years. We know we'll be seeing him again.)
Top of the Heap Award, "Best Toilet Seat": Bonnie Dinger (Go Bonnie!!)
Top of the Heap Award, "Best Private Boat Brought to the clean-up": Tom Hryvniak (Tom had so much energy when he contacted me on day three from Rochester, super enthusiastic about volunteering. He also brought down a beautiful 15' hand crafted boat, with sail if needed, and filled it with trash two days in a row... wow!)
