At 4'9" Ruby Dillon may be small in stature, but this Richland
Hills volunteer stands tall as a community servant. Over the past
20 years, she's given more than 56,000 hours of volunteer service
and her efforts on behalf of the environment continually touch new
lives. Her efforts have also earned her the Texas Environmental
Excellence Award, the state's highest environmental honor. Ruby
Dillon is one of 12 winners statewide to be recognized with an
award, presented by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
on April 30 in Austin at its annual banquet.
In 2007, this 80 year-old dynamo encouraged more than 1,600
young people to participate in environmental camps, fairs, and
cleanups. Together they collected 2,000 pounds of trash and more
than 3 tons of paper. Dillon also helped local Boy Scout and Girl
Scout troops fulfill their goals on environmental activities,
community service, and volunteerism. She may be best known,
however, for her service as the volunteer executive director of
Keep Richland Hills Beautiful from 1990 to April 2007. During her
tenure, Dillon was awarded numerous grants on projects ranging from
a community butterfly garden to an educational environmental
activity book.
Dillon's long history of service on the boards of at least 11
different community organizations enabled her to establish
partnerships between Keep Richland Hills Beautiful and 21 different
boards and agencies. Through these partnerships, she is active in
environmental education efforts including the area's local
Enviro-Fair and Enviro-Camp held annually. She also leads students
on field trips and established a Junior Master Gardener program at
the Birdville Independent School District.
This legacy of committed environmental education has literally
changed the face of her community, from the beautification and
cleanup projects to the lessons learned by thousands of area
schoolchildren. Dillon offers a testimonial to the rewards that
come when passion meets action.
The TCEQ annually presents the Texas Environmental Excellence
Awards to environmental projects across the state that demonstrate
excellence in resource conservation, waste reduction and pollution
prevention. The award-winning programs reflect the goals of the
TCEQ: to protect Texas human and natural resources and ensure clean
air, clean water and the safe management of waste. For more
information, or to submit an application for next year's awards,
visit www.teea.org.
