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Cleanup efforts help keep city looking good

Volunteers are the key to success

It’s spring cleaning time, and the cleaning isn’t limited to washing windows.

On a recent afternoon, groups of people carrying garbage bags could be seen moving through fields on the east side of town, near some of the big stores . As they moved, they gradually filled those bags with every piece of litter they found. Those volunteers filled about 50 bags with trash.

Another cleanup effort, targeting multiple areas of the town is scheduled for May 10. That will be the annual FOD Walk, which has been held in Fort Dodge for close to 20 years.

The endeavor was started by Rhonda Chambers, the director of aviation at Fort Dodge Regional Airport who once led the Image Committee of the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance. She relied on her professional background to create it. FOD is an aviation acronym that stands for Foreign Object and Debris. FOD Walks are conducted at civilian and military airfields to remove anything from the runways that might damage a plane. In some cases, airfield personnel will stand shoulder to shoulder and walk down the runway looking for things.

Chambers applied the same general strategy to the city. In its first few years, the FOD Walk focused heavily on fields on the eastern side of the city, where shopping bags and other litter was known to accumulate. The walks were later expanded to include downtown.

And yet another cleanup is scheduled for June 1. That is when the alumni of the Leadership Fort Dodge program will hold their Beautification Day. The alumni will be working with Pride In Community Appearance, also known as PICA.

There are two common factors in all of these cleanup efforts. Volunteers are one of those factors. Everyone who was out picking up in the fields was giving some of their time to do that. Everyone who will be at the FOD Walk and Beautification Day will also be volunteers.

The other common factor is the Greater Fort Dodge Growth Alliance. Its staff and volunteers have handled the organizational details which make these efforts function smoothly and successfully.

The volunteers and the Growth Alliance are to be commended for helping to make our community look great.

And there is still time for the rest of us to get involved, too. The weather is finally starting to get warm, so it is time to go outside, get some fresh air and be part of something good for the community. Consider spending some time on May 10 helping with the FOD Walk.

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