RICHMOND (May 3, 2023)— Pulaski County Board of Supervisors Chair Laura Walters has been appointed to the VACo Board of Directors to represent Region 12. She was sworn in during a VACo Board of Directors meeting on April 27.
“I’m happy and honored to represent Region 12 on the VACo Board,” Chair Walters said. “I look forward to continuing to work with our counties and towns to facilitate needed legislation. I’m looking forward to continued and new relationships in this role and using my talents to effectively represent our Region.”
Laura Walters is a community-minded problem-solver who has served as Board Chair twice during her four-year term as Pulaski County Supervisor.
Ms. Walters’ love for her community showed earlier this year when Pulaski County wanted to clean the trash from the side of the roads in its community. It was a problem that needed a creative solution that not only solved the issue but also saved the county money, resources, and staff time.
Enter Board Chair Walters – who relishes these types of opportunities to think, craft, and see to fruition fixes to a problem that also unites the community.
“Our ‘One Bag Challenge’ has been a success so far,” said Walters, who came up with the idea while brainstorming with constituents, “We’re just really pleased with the response and want to thank everybody for getting out and helping. Our citizens have done an awesome job.”
The One Bag Challenge encourages community residents to pick up a bag’s worth of trash from county roads. If participants send a photo of their full bag of trash to Chair Walters, they will be entered into a drawing for $100 gift cards, which are awarded during Pulaski County Board of Supervisors meetings through the month of June. The gift cards are made possible through grants that Ms. Walters secured for litter prevention and clean-ups.
“Often we wonder how certain things of value like the ‘One Bag Challenge’ get done in a community, well they all start with great leadership, a good idea, and a doable plan,” Pulaski County Administrator Jonathan D. Sweet said. “The great leadership that Chair Walters consistently demonstrates is the reason why her good idea has been a tremendous success and is a model initiative for more reasons than just a community beautification project, but it’s moreover a model of local government leadership.”
So far 575 bags of trash and 256 tires have been collected. Some of the strange photos Ms. Walters has received include a toilet, a machete, and numerous small appliances and furniture. Chair Walters said she’s challenged the Town of Dublin, the Town of Pulaski, and the Pulaski County School Board to participate.
“Please reach out to me if you are a locality that wants to start their own challenge,” Chair Walters said. “I’m happy to help.”