Jun 242 min read

The City of Del Rio Receives Prestigious Governor’s Community Achievement Award

Del Rio, Texas – Keep Texas Beautiful (KTB) has recognized The City of Del Rio as one of 10 winners of the 2024 Governor’s Community Achievement Awards (GCAA) as an outstanding clean and beautiful community. KTB, in partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT), has awarded the GCAA to Texas communities for 55 years. The City of Del Rio will receive $210,000 for a landscaping project to be completed in collaboration with TxDOT along a state-maintained road.

“It is a great honor to be recognized for this prestigious award. I want to thank everyone in the community who participated in our Keep Texas Beautiful events from Fall Sweep to Spring and San Felipe Creek cleanups. This recognition results from community involvement and wanting to make our world a better place to live and play.” – Esme Meza, Community Services Director

On Wednesday, June 19, 2024, Mayor Arreola, accompanied by Grant Writer Michael Garcia, Community Services Director Esme Meza, and Parks Superintendent Lazaro Castro, had the honor of receiving a proclamation from First Lady of Texas, Cecilia Abbott. While the City of Del Rio had previously announced their award win, the ceremony at the Governor’s Mansion and personal recognition from the First Lady was a special occasion for the representatives.

Since becoming an affiliate of the Keep Texas Beautiful program three years ago, Del Rio has consistently demonstrated its commitment to community improvement and sustainability. The city has previously been honored with the Excellence Award, Sustainable Award, Silver Star designation, and Gold Star designation.

The objective of the GCAA is to recognize Texas communities for their outstanding efforts in community improvement. The awarded funds will be used to construct a landscape project on state right-of-way that fulfills Del Rio’s expectations while meeting TxDOT’s design, safety, maintenance, and funding requirements. City staff will collaborate with TxDOT’s district engineers to ensure the project’s success.

KTB created the GCAA in partnership with the Governor’s office in 1969 to recognize towns and cities for their efforts to create clean and beautiful communities. TxDOT has provided landscaping award funding since 1985. To date, 261 projects have been funded, totaling $47 million in project costs.

The City of Del Rio will also receive a stately cast aluminum metal plaque to be placed in a prominent public location. The other winning communities are Argyle, Whitesboro, Alpine, Seabrook, Anna, Little Elm, San Marcos, Pearland, and Garland. The award is one of the most coveted annual environmental and community improvement honors in Texas. A community’s environmental program is judged by a group of diverse, multi-sector judges on achievements in seven environmental and community improvement areas: public awareness and outreach, environmental education, beautification and community improvement, litter prevention and cleanup, solid waste management, litter law, and illegal dumping enforcement. Communities compete in 10 population categories with the size of the landscaping awards based on their population.

“Thanks to the hard work and commitment of many members throughout our community, we will be receiving $210,000 for a landscaping project to beautify our community. Thank you to TxDOT and Keep Texas Beautiful for this prestigious honor!” said Mayor Arreola.

To learn more about the Governor’s Community Achievement Awards and the 2024 winners, visit ktb.org/gcaa.

This is a Press Release from the Governor's Community Achievement Awards. You can view the original release here.