Love Blue Recap: NJ Sustainability in Motion 2025

Love Blue had an amazing time at NJ Sustainability in Motion 2025, held in Atlantic City, NJ. This annual conference, hosted by New Jersey Clean Communities, brought together environmental leaders, businesses, and organizations all working toward a cleaner, greener future. It was the perfect opportunity for us to strengthen relationships, form new collaborations, and explore opportunities to expand our mission.

Time Well Spent with Our Board of Directors

One of the highlights of the event was spending valuable time with our Board of Directors, including:

🔹 Jeff Gyland (Recycle Coach) – Bringing tech-driven recycling solutions to communities.

🔹 Eric Ascalon (TerraCycle) – A leader in recycling hard-to-recycle materials.

🔹 Chris Fitzpatrick (Garbo Grabber) – Our Advisor, whose company’s innovative cleanup tools have transformed our beach cleanups, giving our members a more professional and effective experience.

Having these key figures on-site made it even more impactful as we worked together to explore new ways to enhance Love Blue’s reach and effectiveness.

A Key Role from JoAnn Gemenden

We were also proud to see JoAnn Gemenden, Executive Director of Clean Communities and a dedicated Love Blue Board Member, play such a huge role in organizing the event. Her leadership and connections helped open doors for meaningful partnerships that will drive our mission forward.

Growing Our Impact

The conference was an incredible platform for Love Blue to:

🌊 Expand Cleanup Station Locations – Bringing cleanup resources to more communities.🎓 Develop New College & Community Chapters – Inspiring the next generation of environmental leaders

.🏢 Engage Businesses in Sponsorships – Connecting with companies interested in supporting cleanups through our "Sponsor a Cleanup" program.

Special Thanks to ACUA & Rebecca Turygan

A massive shoutout to the Atlantic City Utilities Authority (ACUA) and our amazing Board Member Rebecca Turygan. Rebecca played a key role in securing sponsorship for our exhibit, which allowed us to connect with influential organizations and decision-makers. This sponsorship exposed us to countless new opportunities and will be instrumental in helping Love Blue continue to grow and thrive.

Looking Ahead

Attending NJ Sustainability in Motion 2025 reinforced how powerful collaboration can be in the fight for cleaner waterways and communities. With the relationships strengthened, new partnerships formed, and corporate collaborations on the horizon, we’re more excited than ever for what’s ahead.

A huge thank you to JoAnn Gemenden, Rebecca Turygan, Jeff Gyland, Eric Ascalon, Chris Fitzpatrick, ACUA, and all our partners for making this event such a success! We can’t wait to see where these new connections take us next. 💙♻️🌍