100 Trees Planted on Airport Boulevard

Springdale Mayor Pat Smith, Stewart Mungo, KMB Board Chair Karen Owens, Lexington County Council Vice Chairman Debbie Summers, and Cayce Mayor Avery Wilkerson at the groundbreaking for the Airport Boulevard Beautification Project

Keep the Midlands Beautiful is pleased to announce the planting of 100 trees, a mix of magnolias, crape myrtles, lacebark elms, and shumard oaks, along Airport Boulevard between the John Hardee Expressway and Interstate 26. The Airport Boulevard Beautification Project is the result of a public-private partnership among Keep the Midlands Beautiful, the City of Cayce, Lexington County, the Town of Springdale and a group of corporate supporters.

“We all know the value of making a good first impression, and beautifying this important gateway into our community will go a long way in enhancing the impression business prospects and visitors have upon arriving in the Midlands,” says Karen Owens, Board Chair of Keep the Midlands Beautiful. “Keep the Midlands Beautiful is grateful for the support that our local communities and corporate sponsors provided to make planting these trees possible.”

The project was the vision of real estate developer Stewart Mungo, who approached Keep the Midlands Beautiful in 2006 about planting trees along roads that serve as important entrances to our region in order to improve visitors’ first impressions of the Midlands. Keep the Midlands Beautiful and Mr. Mungo decided to focus their initial efforts on Airport Boulevard, a key road leading in from Columbia Metropolitan Airport.

“I am delighted that we were able to put together a public-private partnership for the benefit of all residents and businesses of the Midlands, says Mr. Mungo, “We always need to put our best foot forward – it’s best for tourism, economic development and for our region as a whole.”

Keep the Midlands Beautiful thanks our Sponsors!

Blanchard Machinery, Bill Boyd, BP Barber, Carolina First Bank, Colliers Keenan Inc., Colonial Life, Homebuilders Association of Greater Columbia Charitable Foundation, Keenan and Suggs Insurance, Lexington Medical Center, Lizard’s Thicket, McGee Real Estate, The Mungo Company, The National Bank of South Carolina, Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough, SCE&G, Southeastern Freight Lines, Inc., South Carolina Bank and Trust, Donald Tomlin