Peoria Profile
Sue Dewey, Peoria City Beautiful
Sue Dewey appreciates beautifully maintained businesses and residences more than the average citizen. In fact, as executive director of Peoria City Beautiful for the past 15 years, it’s her job to encourage people to keep the city looking good.
Peoria City Beautiful has a 20-member board of directors, but Dewey is the only staff person running the office, and this lone ranger has plenty to keep her busy. She oversees multiple projects the organization is involved in, such as the Great American Cleanup. "This is a city-wide litter cleanup held every Spring," she said. "We have more than 1,400 volunteers from schools, businesses, scout troops, neighborhood associations, and church groups picking up litter all over the city."
Peoria City Beautiful is also assisting the Illinois Department of Transportation in the planning stages of the huge I-74 reconstruction project. "We have provided knowledgeable professionals to help with the hardscape, which is the design and structural part of the project. We’ve also assisted with the landscaping part of the project, called the softscape," Dewey said.
Another initiative Dewey is spearheading is the newly-launched Litter Prevention Campaign, in which the organization is trying to raise awareness throughout the community that littering isn’t acceptable behavior.
The campaign is an extension of sorts of a project Dewey has been involved with since she joined Peoria City Beautiful. "I go to all of the primary schools in District 150, as well as the parochial schools, and give a program on litter prevention and recycling. We think our education program on litter prevention in the schools has been very successful. If you reach children when they’re young, before they develop bad habits, you can influence them in their choices and behaviors," she said.
Peoria City Beautiful was started in 1955 by a group of community leaders who thought Peoria needed a comprehensive plan for beautification, Dewey said. "It’s an independent, not-for-profit organization, and one of 500 affiliates of Keep America Beautiful. Our mission is to improve the environment of the Peoria area through beautification, awareness, education, and recycling."
Dewey, who grew up in St. Paul, Minn., said she’s always been interested in beautification and a clean, litter-free environment, but her life initially took a different direction. "I graduated from St. Cloud State University with a teaching degree in English. From there I moved to Peoria and taught English at Peoria Heights High School for five years."
It was only after spending a number of years as an at-home mom that Dewey accepted the position as executive director of Peoria City Beautiful.
Though Peoria City Beautiful has many ongoing beautification projects, most people know the organization best for its annual awards. "We’ve been bestowing the Orchid and Onion Awards for the past 38 years," Dewey said. "Each June, we put a nomination form in the newspaper for the public to nominate businesses for one of our awards. A business can also nominate itself. Orchid Awards are given to businesses which have done an exceptional job in landscaping and site beautification. Beautification Awards are given to businesses that just missed qualifying for an Orchid Award. The Continued Maintenance Awards are given to previous Orchid Award winners that continue to maintain their property in outstanding condition, and Building Beautification Awards are given to businesses that have done a superb job restoring and renovating older buildings."
PCB honored individual homeowners and neighborhood associations for the first time this year, with the presentation of the Iris Award.
Peoria City Beautiful has a 20-member board of directors, but Dewey is the only staff person running the office, and this lone ranger has plenty to keep her busy. She oversees multiple projects the organization is involved in, such as the Great American Cleanup. "This is a city-wide litter cleanup held every Spring," she said. "We have more than 1,400 volunteers from schools, businesses, scout troops, neighborhood associations, and church groups picking up litter all over the city."
Peoria City Beautiful is also assisting the Illinois Department of Transportation in the planning stages of the huge I-74 reconstruction project. "We have provided knowledgeable professionals to help with the hardscape, which is the design and structural part of the project. We’ve also assisted with the landscaping part of the project, called the softscape," Dewey said.
Another initiative Dewey is spearheading is the newly-launched Litter Prevention Campaign, in which the organization is trying to raise awareness throughout the community that littering isn’t acceptable behavior.
The campaign is an extension of sorts of a project Dewey has been involved with since she joined Peoria City Beautiful. "I go to all of the primary schools in District 150, as well as the parochial schools, and give a program on litter prevention and recycling. We think our education program on litter prevention in the schools has been very successful. If you reach children when they’re young, before they develop bad habits, you can influence them in their choices and behaviors," she said.
Peoria City Beautiful was started in 1955 by a group of community leaders who thought Peoria needed a comprehensive plan for beautification, Dewey said. "It’s an independent, not-for-profit organization, and one of 500 affiliates of Keep America Beautiful. Our mission is to improve the environment of the Peoria area through beautification, awareness, education, and recycling."
Dewey, who grew up in St. Paul, Minn., said she’s always been interested in beautification and a clean, litter-free environment, but her life initially took a different direction. "I graduated from St. Cloud State University with a teaching degree in English. From there I moved to Peoria and taught English at Peoria Heights High School for five years."
It was only after spending a number of years as an at-home mom that Dewey accepted the position as executive director of Peoria City Beautiful.
Though Peoria City Beautiful has many ongoing beautification projects, most people know the organization best for its annual awards. "We’ve been bestowing the Orchid and Onion Awards for the past 38 years," Dewey said. "Each June, we put a nomination form in the newspaper for the public to nominate businesses for one of our awards. A business can also nominate itself. Orchid Awards are given to businesses which have done an exceptional job in landscaping and site beautification. Beautification Awards are given to businesses that just missed qualifying for an Orchid Award. The Continued Maintenance Awards are given to previous Orchid Award winners that continue to maintain their property in outstanding condition, and Building Beautification Awards are given to businesses that have done a superb job restoring and renovating older buildings."
PCB honored individual homeowners and neighborhood associations for the first time this year, with the presentation of the Iris Award.
In addition to awards for greatness, PCB hands out Onion Awards to businesses whose properties are unsightly and visual blights in the community. Needless to say, businesses react very differently based on the award they receive. "Recipients of our Orchid Awards are very excited and flattered to receive them. The recipients of the Onion Awards are a different story. We give these businesses every opportunity to improve their property. Usually they clean things up right away because they don’t want the negative publicity associated with the Onion Award, but if, after many opportunities, the businesses fail to do anything to improve their property, we give them the Onion Award. Those who receive the Onion are usually not pleased, and occasionally I get an earful from them." TPW