Judy Bowles remembered for her work Keep(ing) Albany-Doughety Beautiful

ALBANY – For 31 years Judy Bowles was the champion of environmental stewardship in Dougherty County through her position as executive director of Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful.

That legacy lives on through her promotion of the organization and the individuals she inspired.

Bowles, who died on Thursday, left a legacy that can be measured. During her tenure, more than 1.3 million volunteers gave 10.5 million hours of service, collecting more than 3.2 million pounds of trash in the Stash the Trash program operated through the city of Albany and Dougherty County.

But for Laverne Livingston, who served as project manager under Bowles for nearly 30 of those 31 years, the reach was measured in more than time and the bags those volunteers filled with garbage.

“It wasn’t just something she did; it was something she was,” Livingston said. “Just to see her in action … some folks go through the motions. Judy Bowles, she was all in. She was just driven, and she was determined and she had so much care for this community.”

Livingston’s work with Bowles, who retired in 2022, began just after the 1994 Great Flood of Albany and included litter abatement, graffiti removal and educational activities, as well as accompanying the KADB mascot, Duncan D. Trash, to school events. Arbor Day tree plantings were also part of the work, and volunteers showed up in big numbers.

“You had students coming out, doctors, lawyers, finance people, everybody,” Livingston said. “That was so wonderful to see, I guess the humanity in people. People would actually donate to the projects, because that was how projects got done. It was a pretty good time we had.”

For Bowles, the work was more than a paycheck, the former project manager said, it was part of who she was.

“It was a part of her,” Livingston said. “It wasn’t just going through the motions. Our goals and our mission was to empower citizens to take a greater responsibility for our environment, and she did that. I’m grateful to have known her and to have worked with her for all those years. We definitely lost a great contributor to our community.”

From the time Jon Howard was sworn in as the Ward 1 city commissioner in 1994, Bowles was there to help him pursue his goal to clean up the community, Howard said. She also taught him about the environment and helped with educational efforts.

In addition to her work in Dougherty County, Bowles served on the Keep America Beautiful board of directors and received that group’s leadership award, on the Georgia Recycling Board and had served as president of Keep Georgia Beautiful.

Bowles also took pleasure in her organizational work and making sure that others received recognition for their work, Howard said.

“She was a great organizer,” he said. “She helped me organize community cleanups in my ward. I tagged along with her, went to luncheons and awards ceremonies for the school system and city workers. Getting appreciation (for them) in awards really made her day.”

In 2019 Bowles pushed for Howard’s recognition as the elected official honored by Keep Georgia Beautiful.

“She loved the community and she loved the environment,” Howard said. “She was a fountain of educating the community to keep the world clean, not just here in Albany.”