Keep America Beautiful
Recycle-Bowl Award Event Script
[City and State] Statewide Event
[Date of event]
10:00 a.m. [confirm start time] – Event scheduled to begin.
10:05 a.m. - Emcee convenes event, explains reason for gathering and introduces [KAB
representative].
STAY UPBEAT, KID-FOCUSED and FUN!
Emcee: Good morning, everyone!
We welcome you here today for a big celebration in honor of ALL of you. We have some
big announcements and some fun in store for you this morning, so as soon as we take
our seats and focus our attention on the stage, we can get started.
[Make sure kids are situated and attentive, as best as possible]
Thank you everyone. Like I said, we have a big announcement and celebration today, so
let’s get started!
I’m [Name of Emcee], and I’ll be your master of ceremonies today. [self intro and quick
context]
It’s my pleasure to introduce all of you to [KAB representative name and title]. [Name
of KAB representative] joins us today from [City and state] as a representative of the
national organization that has done so much to advance recycling in the United States.
He/She’s one of the nation’s most respected experts in recycling, having dedicated
his/her life to increasing recycling nationwide by working with kids, college students and
grown ups alike. And he/she has a very important announcement for all of us. [Name of
KAB representative]?
10:10 a.m. – KAB Representative takes the stage.
KAB Representative: Thank you! Keep America Beautiful is a nationwide nonprofit
organization that’s dedicated to creating cleaner, greener communities by focusing on
the simple things that every one of us can do, every day, to make our communities,
schools and businesses better places… places that are free of litter, friendly towards
recycling, places with cleaner parks, more trees and flowers, places where you WANT to
live, play and work.
And just like all of you – we like to have FUN doing it! That’s why we started the RecycleBowl competition this year.
Just like the Super Bowl determines which football teams are the best, we wanted
Recycle-Bowl to find the best RECYCLING teams out there. In our very first year, more
than 500 thousand students in 1,200 schools competed within their states and with
other schools across the nation to see who could be the best recyclers.
I’m proud to say that [Name of school] is one of the VERY best of the best – an ALL STAR
TEAM of recyclers. Let me be the first to congratulate ALL of you on this BIG TEAM for
being the NUMBER ONE champion recyclers for the entire state of [State]!
Congratulations to all of you!
[LEAD APPLAUSE]
Like every winning team, it took every single one of you… as “players”… and your
teacher coaches, your sanitation team trainers, and of course your supportive parents…
to make it happen. This is a HUGE accomplishment that you should ALL be proud of…
and celebrate… TOGETHER.
I hope you had a lot of fun competing, but I also want you to know what an important
role you play as our next generation of environmentalists.
When you recycle – every little thing you can, every day – you’re making a BIG
difference. Just during this competition, schools across the country recycled over 2
million pounds of materials.
If every student in America recycled at the rate of this year’s Recycle-Bowl competitors,
TWO MILLION TONS of material would be diverted annually from landfills. That would
be the weight of 156,000 school buses!
These things that you recycled… bottles and papers, cans… everything… they didn’t get
wasted in a landfill. Because they got recycled, they’ll soon come back as new things…
cool clothing, new toys, park benches, diving boards, playground equipment – you name
it.
When we do that, we say that we’re “conserving a natural resource.” We save energy,
we save the environment, and we save money for mom and dad and even our cities and
schools. That’s a lot of GOOD THINGS coming from what we used to think of as “trash.”
And that’s the best part of all about recycling. Now that you’re a winning team, we
know that you’ll be doing more recycling – every day. Because when you do… you’ll
always be a WINNER! And so will your families and everyone around you.
So again, I thank you and Keep America Beautiful thanks you for your incredible efforts
and hard work. We look forward to seeing you all as you grow and continue to take care
of your community, your schools and your environment in the years to come.
Now, none of this would have been possible without the support of our national
sponsor, Nestle Waters North America. I’d now like to introduce [Name of Nestle
representative], representing Nestle Waters. [Name of Nestle representative], I know
you want to say a few words to this incredible team of champions.
10:15 a.m. – Nestle representative comes to the podium.
[Nestle representative]: Thank you, [Name of KAB representative], and GOOD
MORNING CHAMPION RECYCLERS! I’m here representing my company, Nestlé Waters
North America, the makers of Poland Springs, Nestle Pure Life, and many other brands
of bottled waters.
Our company knows that water is one of the healthiest drinks for anyone – young or
old. We all need water to stay refreshed. Our bodies NEED water – every day - so that
we can keep playing, keep learning, and keep “at the top of our games.”
We also know that when water comes in bottles, we as a company have a
RESPONSIBILITY to make sure that those bottles don’t wind up wasted as trash or litter.
And we take that responsibility VERY seriously.
That’s why we believe so strongly in recycling, and why we were so proud to work with
Keep America Beautiful to host the first ever Recycle-Bowl competition in schools across
the country.
[Name of KAB representative] told you that you were winners, but let me tell you a little
more about the details. Here at [Name of school], each of you recycled a whopping [XX]
pounds of plastic, paper and other materials during the competition. Overall, [Name of
school] recycling champions kept [XXXXX] pounds of materials from being wasted in
landfills!
What sort of impact did the Recycle-Bowl competition have? Well, by recycling as much
material as you did, you helped save enough energy to power 1 television for 857,000
days. Your recycled bottles could be turned into 245 t-shirts. I bet you never thought
that you were doing so much for your community and for the world!
This year, you also made a BIG difference for your school. As Statewide winners of the
Recycle-Bowl competition, Nestle Waters and Keep America Beautiful are proud to
award the school with a cash award of $1000 that you can use to make [Name of school]
even better! YOU did this for your school and for that you deserve another big round of
applause!
[Lead Applause]
I’d now like to welcome your Mayor, [Name of Mayor or other VIP], to the stage.
10:20 a.m. – Mayor (or other VIP) takes the stage
Thank you [Nestle representative], Nestle Waters, and thank you also to [KAB
representative] and her team at Keep America Beautiful for joining us today!
[Mayor’s remarks]
10:25 a.m. – Introduction of VIPs
Emcee: Today we have with us some very important people. Please let me introduce the
following folks and ask them to stand and be recognized.
- [List of other VIPs in attendance]
I’d now like to welcome your Principal, [Name of Principal], to the stage, because I know
that he/she is very proud of all of you as well!
10:30 a.m. - School principal takes the stage
Thank you Nestle Waters and Keep America Beautiful.
I AM SO very proud of each and every one of you on our [Name of school] team!
While the competition was going on, I was so thrilled to see your energy and
enthusiasm. [add personal anecdote].
[Most importantly: Thank any specific teachers, custodial staff, class parents or others
who made special efforts]
Perhaps a word about how the $1000 will be used by the school.
I know that our students are the best of the best – and this special award just proves it.
Again, I couldn’t be prouder.
10:35 a.m. – Winning class, teacher and custodian join group on stage. [KAB
representative] presents the school principal with an oversized check. The group
shakes hands and poses for a few photos. [KAB representative] goes to podium for
closing.
KAB representative: Thank you all again for your incredible efforts! We know that kids
love to compete to see who’s the best – whether in sports, art and music, or in your
studies. Friendly competition is a great way to learn and grow. So while you all keep
working hard to be the best readers and writers, or basketball players… or
mathematicians… or dancers… or gymnasts – we want you also to remember to try to
be the best recyclers you can be, everyday. Then, maybe we’ll be back next year to
honor you as our NATIONAL champions! Congratulations again to all of you!
[Lead Applause]
But before we conclude we have one more special treat for you.
10:45 a.m. – Emcee introduces entertainment . . . .
Emcee: Now, to close out today’s celebration, let’s give a big welcome to . . . .
10:55 a.m. – Event concludes
Emcee: Thank you all for coming. [short elaboration, if you want]
Let me now turn the microphone over to your Principal to talk with you about exiting
the room.