(May 16, 2025) Smithton Borough Council, Westmoreland County, honored Smithton Mayor Christine Tutena with the Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Community Pride Award for her exceptional dedication to community improvement in Smithton Borough.

Tutena has been organizing local Earth Day litter cleanups for 25 years. Starting in 2000, Tutena and a small group of four people began cleaning up litter along River Road by the Youghiogheny River outside of Smithton in South Huntingdon Township. This initiative has since expanded to include three state roads, totaling over three miles, leading into the borough of Smithton and the interchange at the State Route 70 Smithton exit.

“Keeping America beautiful is all of our responsibility. I’m just glad I can still do my part and can encourage others to help make a difference,” commented Mayor Tutena.

Tutena has served as the Mayor of Smithton for 20 years. During her tenure, she has been instrumental in creating and maintaining the borough’s pollinator garden and new playground. Additionally, she has actively promoted Smithton as a stop on the Great Allegheny Passage bicycle trail.

“Mayor Tutena’s unwavering dedication to her community over the past 25 years is truly inspiring. Her efforts in organizing Earth Day cleanups, enhancing local amenities, and promoting Smithton as a key stop on the Great Allegheny Passage have made a lasting impact. We are incredibly grateful for her leadership and commitment to creating a cleaner, greener, and more vibrant community,” said Shannon Reiter, Executive Director, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful.

The Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful Community Pride Award recognizes outstanding environmental stewardship by an individual, school, community organization or civic group that makes an outstanding commitment to litter control, recycling, or general environmental stewardship. The community Pride Award is available to elected officials to recognize those in the community working to change behaviors at the local level. Elected officials interested in nominating a constituent for a Community Pride Award should visit keeppabeautiful.org and choose grants and awards, then awards, then Community Pride Award for more information. The award is open on a rolling basis.

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About Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful
Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s vision is a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Since 1990, Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful has worked with hundreds of thousands of volunteers across the state to pick up nearly 162 million pounds of trash from Pennsylvania’s roadways, waterways, greenways, vacant lots, forestlands and other community spaces. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful’s core programming focuses on litter and illegal dump prevention, cleanup, community greening, and proper waste handling and sustainable practices. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful works with many partnering organizations on the state and grassroots level to accomplish our goal of a clean and beautiful Pennsylvania. Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful is the state affiliate of Keep America Beautiful, Inc., the nation’s largest volunteer-based community action and education organization. To learn more about Keep Pennsylvania Beautiful, visit www.keeppabeautiful.org.

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