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Members of WIU's Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity were honored by Macomb Mayor Mike Inman Thursday for their volunteer work in the community.
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TKE members seated include Zach Hardin, Enrique Salas and Greg Shaw. In the back row, from left, include Mayor Mike Inman and TKE members Ronnie Diaz and TJ Zitt.
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In the front row, from left, are Greg Shaw, WIU graduate student and Peace Corps Fellow Katelin Bridgman and Zach Hardin. In the back row, from left, are Ronnie Diaz, Enrique Salas, TJ Zitt
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Members of WIU's Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity spent numerous hours sorting donated plastic bottle caps so they could be recycled into benches for the community.
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Members of the New Millennium Corvette Club of Macomb donated the processing fees for a bench dedicated Thursday in Compton Park.
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Macomb Community Bench Project has University Connections

April 23, 2021

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MACOMB, IL – As two in a series of new park benches were unveiled in Macomb Thursday as part of Earth Day, the project is interwoven with partnerships with several Western Illinois University organizations.

Build a Better Block Macomb has spent over a year collecting thousands of pounds of plastic soda bottle caps, donated by local residents. Those caps were then transported to Green Tree Plastics, an Indiana company that recycles them into park benches. A variety of local residents and organizations have sponsored the processing costs for each bench.

There were already two benches in place in Macomb prior to Build a Better Block's most recent round of sponsorships. In late March, the organization announced six benches and a youth picnic table would be arriving in public spaces throughout Macomb. Two of the benches were unveiled at dedication ceremonies Thursday, one in Compton Park, paid for by the New Millennium Corvette Club of Macomb, and one at the Macomb Junior-Senior High School, paid for by the family of Don Simpkins in his memory. More of the benches will be placed around Macomb in the coming months.

The bench project was spearheaded by Western Illinois University graduate student and Peace Corps Fellow Katelin Bridgman, who is a graduate assistant in Macomb's Community Development Office. She is working for Community Development Coordinator John Bannon, who is also a former Peace Corps Fellow.

Prior to beginning graduate school at WIU to study community and economic development, Bridgman, a Wisconsin native, spent 10 months with the Peace Corps in Moldova before the COVID-19 pandemic ended her service.

Before the recycled benches could be delivered to Macomb, the caps had to be sorted; work that was done by 20 members of WIU's Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) fraternity in a series of work sessions during the Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 semesters. Five members of the fraternity attended the Compton Park bench unveiling Thursday to be honored by Macomb Mayor Mike Inman.

Bridgman said Thursday's honor for the members of TKE was especially meaningful because this week marks National Volunteer Recognition Week.

Bottle caps for the bench project are being collected inside the front door of Macomb City Hall. For more information about the Build a Better Block organization, visit facebook.com/pg/BetterBlockMacomb.


Posted By: Jodi Pospeschil (JK-Pospeschil@wiu.edu)
Office of University Communications & Marketing