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Letter to the editor

Greening heroism

A senior editor at People explains why the magazine chose a blossoming Green Armada group as one of its 2007 heroes of the year.

By NICK JOHNSON, Times Staff Writer
Published October 28, 2007

Members of the Green Armada pose for a photo that runs in People's Nov. 5 issue, on sale Friday. The nonprofit was among the groups nominated as People's 2007 heroes of the year. From right to left; Mark Maksimowicz, Vincent Albanese and Jeff Albanese.
	[Michael O'Neill | People]

ADVERTISEMENT [Ken Helle | Times] Mark Maksimowicz carries debris from the beach area along the southern side of the Howard Frankland Bridge out to the Green Armada barge. The Green Armada is a nonprofit group of people formed to clean up water pollution around Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. [Ken Helle | Times] One of the Green Armada marker buoys the group leaves behind so people know the area is kept clean by their organization.

If you flipped through last week's issue of People magazine, you may have seen the photo of three guys, under a bridge, each proudly toting a full bag of garbage.

Those guys are the founding members of the Green Armada, a local nonprofit aimed at getting the trash out of local waterways.

They are also one of the groups selected as People's 2007 heroes of the year.

Each week the magazine selects an individual or group that has affected humanity in some way, honoring them in a Heroes Among Us feature.

At the end of the year the editors select five who stand out to honor at an awards ceremony.

Senior Editor Nancy Jeffrey explained why the Green Armada was chosen.

"What we really liked is they took on a global problem in a very local way," she said.

"I think all of us walk down our block or at our local shopping center and we lament the problem, but not many of us actually do something."

Founders Vincent Albanese, Jeff Albanese and Mark Maksimowicz said they were honored.

"It's really very exciting," Vincent Albanese said. He hopes the national attention, including a spot on the CBS Early Show scheduled to air this week, will help launch a national campaign to grow the organization.

"It's much bigger than us. The heroes thing is cool but I think next year it's going to be much bigger than our faces," he said.

The group has been getting ready to expand.

They've hired a new executive director, started organizing a chapter in Los Angeles and are in the process of revamping their Web site. They hope the new site will serve as an interactive platform to spread their message and allow them to support affiliates around the country.

"You find someone in Des Moines, Iowa, who is looking to start keeping the river that runs through town clean. We'll give them a way to organize that without having to spend any money," Vincent Albanese said.

Will they still have time to cruise Tampa Bay picking up garbage?

Albanese said they will still spend time on the water but have shifted their focus to keeping the trash from ever making it there. Education will be a big part of their future efforts.

Maksimowicz has also decided to focus more on prevention.

He has pulled back from his involvement in the Green Armada and is planning to start a not-for-profit company. He plans to implement his design for a basket that would trap garbage as it flows out of stormwater drains.

Maksimowicz said, above all, he was glad that people had embraced the green movement.

"I was afraid the whole green thing was going to be a two-year splash, but people are really starting to get it."

Nick Johnson can be reached at nickjohnson@sptimes.com or 893-8361.

[Last modified October 27, 2007, 22:17:21]