Stefanie Lacy
Bandera, TX
Stefanie Lacy knew that Bandera, Texas, was more than just a cowboy town that cared about ranching and rodeos. So in the self-proclaimed “Cowboy Capital of the World,” this determined high school student set out to show the world that Bandera cared about the environment. She established a paper recycling program that diverted 280 tons of paper from a landfill and saved nearly 4,600 trees. She earned almost $6,000 from the project, and contributed every dime to the Friends of the Library of Bandera County and the Animal Welfare Society of Bandera County. “If it was not for the community as a whole, this project could not exist,” she said. “It has instilled community pride for the conservation and preservation of the environment.”