Keep America Beautiful, Inc. remembers Lady Bird Johnson...Progressive First Lady championed National efforts to beautify communities

STAMFORD, Conn., July 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Keep America Beautiful, Inc. was saddened yesterday by news of the passing of former first lady, Lady Bird Johnson.

While Keep America Beautiful, Inc. was originally founded in 1953, Lady Bird's tireless advocacy for the organization throughout the 1960s brought national attention to the organization's mission to bring natural beauty to America's public spaces. As first lady, she was instrumental in convening the White House Conference on Natural Beauty in 1965, and afterward championed the findings through her public support of the Keep America Beautiful organization.

"Lady Bird Johnson always believed that natural beauty was much more than cosmetics," said Keep America Beautiful President G. Raymond Empson. "She understood, and helped others to understand, that beautification efforts have a larger ripple effect throughout all of society."

Indeed, recent studies at the University of Illinois and the Wharton School of Business have proven that beautification efforts -- planting trees and flowers in public spaces and removing signs of blight such as litter and graffiti -- increase property values, decrease crime, improve public health, and even improve student performance. Lady Bird Johnson understood this important dynamic of "greening" a community well before her time.

In 1969, Keep America Beautiful unveiled the Lady Bird Johnson Award, the organization's highest honor bestowed annually to a female individual for outstanding contribution to the environment and community improvement. Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty won the award in 2006, and the 2007 winner will be announced at the KAB National Conference in Washington, D.C., this December.

For years, the Johnson family has been actively involved in Keep Texas Beautiful and the Keep Austin Beautiful affiliate of the national organization.

"Our organization owes much of our success to Lady Bird Johnson's enthusiasm and visionary approach to improving communities through the power of natural beauty," added Empson. "We extend our condolences to the entire family, knowing that they too are celebrating this blessed life of service to America and the world."

About Keep America Beautiful, Inc.

Keep America Beautiful, Inc., established in 1953, is the nation's largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. With a Network of nearly 1,000 affiliate and participating organizations, Keep America Beautiful forms public-private partnerships and programs that engage individuals to take greater responsibility for improving their community environments. For additional information, visit http://www.kab.org/.