A Lexington park needed a cleanup. TQL made it happen.
Ebony Harrington had seen enough. Garbage, weeds and leaves littered Phoenix Park in downtown Lexington, Ky. for far too long, even as renowned horse racecourse Keeneland held its spring meet and attracted international visitors.
The city hadn’t spruced up the space, a popular pass-through for pedestrians near the Lexington Public Library, law firms and courthouses.
“It makes zero sense that the Horse Capital of the World was having guests to our city and it looked horrible,” Harrington said.
She decided to do something about it.
Harrington, a web developer and producer who works in downtown Lexington, announced cleanup plans to her friend David B., a Total Quality Logistics drayage account representative. David broached members of TQL’s Black Employees Supporting Talent (BEST) team in Lexington and seven answered the call to volunteer: Cameron S., Hera’Emperatrize G., Kaysha B., Alex A., Tre E., Jamille J. and Brittany W.
David considered the May 9 endeavor deeply personal as a Lexington native. In addition to helping organize the project – TQL Lexington’s first BEST community event – he was primed to contribute sweat equity to restore some civic pride.
“This is my city too, and I’ve seen things that shouldn’t take three, four or five months to get done,” David said. “People from all around the world were here in Lexington for Keeneland and a lot of parks downtown were looking a mess. We just got the spark to do it ourselves.”
The group scooped, swept, shoveled and raked. They cleaned out dirty dry fountains and plucked overgrowth from cracks in the concrete. They filled 10 trash bags with debris.
Tre E. said the space went from “pretty bad shape” to “looking pretty good” after pesky plants and trash were removed.
Harrington agreed. Phoenix Park gained more curb appeal after two hours of work. While the fresh aesthetic was rewarding, Harrington’s greater vision was showing the impact of citizens banding together to revitalize the heart of a city.
“I am an advocate for our community and our children. I try to be the example so that our youth can see that we can be better if we pull together,” Harrington said. “I’m grateful to TQL and especially David for partnering with me to make this happen.”
ABOUT BEST
Black Employees Supporting Talent (BEST) started at Total Quality Logistics in November of 2020 and has 1,405 members company-wide. Its mission is to attract, retain and develop Black employees by focusing on enhanced engagement, connection to resources, and promoting both personal and company growth. Sherron Williams, Jason Bush, Victor Nichols, Bryan Tyson, Stacee Johnson and Eric Moon form its global leadership team.