Mississippi Power honored with Gulf Guardian Award

Mississippi Power’s Renew Our Rivers program recently was presented with a Gulf Guardian Award by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Gulf of Mexico Program in downtown Gulfport.

The environmental stewardship program was recognized for the hundreds of volunteers and nearly 20 tons of debris cleaned up during the 2018 campaign.

“I am proud to accept this award on behalf of the program coordinators, the leadership at Mississippi Power and the hundreds of employees and partners that volunteer their time and efforts to pick up trash out of our local waterways,” Environmental Affairs Manager Tony Smith said. “We do not organize these events to receive awards, but this recognition from EPA is a testament to the difference we make with each cleanup.”

The first Renew Our Rivers cleanup was held in Aug. 2005. Since then, more than 5,000 volunteers have cleared nearly 400 tons of trash from 20 bodies of water across south Mississippi.

“The partnerships we’ve built through these cleanups are invaluable,” Renew Our Rivers program chair Charles Blount said. “We would not be nearly as successful if we didn’t have the buy-in from our community, civic and governmental partners.”

Winners of Gulf Guardian Awards from seven categories – Business, Civic/Non-Profit, Partnerships, Youth/Education, Individual, Government and Bi-National – were recognized Thursday morning at the Great Southern Club.

“Protecting the Gulf of Mexico requires innovative approaches and proactive measures,” said EPA Region 4 Administrator Mary Walker. “The Gulf Guardian Award winners are paving the way for out-of-the-box thinking and replicable practices.”

Mississippi Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (NYSE: SO), produces safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy for more than 188,000 customers in 23 southeast Mississippi counties. With nearly 160 megawatts of approved solar energy capacity, Mississippi Power is the largest partner in providing renewable energy in the state of Mississippi. Visit our website at mississippipower.com, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

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