GULFPORT, Miss. (WLOX) – More than 30 volunteers from Mississippi Power, the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain, and AARP cleaned up the Turkey Creek area of Gulfport on Monday as part of an MLK Day of Service.
The volunteers collected more than three dozen tires, countless bags of debris, and even an old television.
Mississippi Power employees used the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as “a day on instead of a day off,” according to company officials.
“It’s an opportunity to partner with our long-time partners at the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain and to clean up Turkey Creek and help beautify this community,” said Mark Loughman, Mississippi Power Coast Division Manager.
The utility company organizes the annual cleanup on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a way to give back.
“That’s a way to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and clean up Turkey Creek at the same time,” Loughman said.
Volunteers cleaned up Tukey Creek on MLK Day.(WLOX)
Arnie Williams, Mississippi Power Customer Service Manager, said volunteers found more tires than in previous years, including some from 18-wheelers that required multiple people to move.
“We had plenty of manpower here to take care of all of the heavy lifting,” Williams said.
Williams said the company’s community connection chapters, formed more than 15 years ago, focus on identifying gaps in communities and finding ways to serve those areas.
“The core mission of that is to get out into the community, observe where the gaps are, and to see where we can fit in to serve in those respective areas,” Williams said.
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