Clarksville, TN – On Tuesday, May 31st, 2022, Clarksville Mayor Joe Pitts awarded 14-year-old Ethan Steffensmeier, an eighth-grade student at Northeast Middle School, with a Certificate of Community Service.
It was brought to the attention of Mayor Pitts by school crossing guard Jerry Furby who noticed Ethan Steffensmeier picking up trash as Ethan walked to school.
Furby stated, “Ethan initially used a plastic grocery bag until a neighbor gave him a larger/reusable bag so he could carry more trash”. “Almost every day he would pick up trash along his route to school, just to make a difference”.
Mayor Pitts asked Ethan, “What motivated you, what inspired you to pick up trash?”. Ethan stated, “It started out when I noticed trash under a tree in a neighbor’s yard”. “I picked it up and asked if I could throw it in their garbage can, and they said “yes”, and then it just grew from there”.
John Linsey, Ethans’ Social Studies teacher at Northeast Middle school stated that “In the classroom, Ethan is a student that is always willing to help his teachers or would volunteer to stay after school and assist other students that needed help.
Mayor Pitts told Ethan how much he “appreciates his kindness, his dedication, his servant’s heart, and positive attitude, you will inspire others and thank you”. A Certificate of Community Service was presented to Ethan along with a City of Clarksville Mayor’s Challenge Coin. Ethan also received a Clarksville Police Department Challenge coin from DC Burdine.
