For many in Limestone County, Lynne Hart is as synonymous with Keep Athens-Limestone Beautiful as KALB is with local environmental efforts. From trash attacks to ducky derbies, she’s been a part of the journey to clean up the community and teach the importance of keeping it that way.

But, after more than 20 years as the organization’s executive director, Hart has decided it’s time to let someone else take the lead.

“This has been my heart and my identity for 21 years, and it’s really hard to let go, but it’s time,” she said Tuesday. “I’m leaving it in excellent hands.”

Leigh Patterson, who has served as Hart’s coworker and in many ways second-in-command for years, will be moving up as executive director. Hart said knowing the organization will be well cared for has helped make it easier to step away.

However, she said, she has no plans of leaving the community entirely. Hart moved to Limestone County from Cleveland, Ohio, and while she intends to do some traveling, she has no intentions of moving away from the Athens-Limestone area.

“I love Athens, I love Limestone County, and eventually, I’ll come back and be involved with KALB again,” she said. “I want to step away long enough for Leigh to establish herself as head of the organization, but then maybe I’ll come back and get involved in other ways.”

Hart said she’ll miss working with the kids, visiting classrooms and sharing KALB’s mission with people in the community. When she started in 1999, KALB was called the “Athens-Limestone Clean Community” and was virtually unheard of, she said.

“Now, it is rare for me to find someone who has not at least heard of us and knows something about what we do,” Hart said. “There’s still a lot of misconceptions. Most people don’t realize how extensive our organization is and how we are out in the community all the time.”

Events in a typical year for KALB include scavenger hunts, nature walks, anti-litter events, the annual Earth Day & Outdoor EXPO, the Duck and Run 5K and the Wacky Quacky Ducky Derby. They visit schools throughout the county to present age-appropriate lessons about the environment, recycling and littering. Also listed on the organization’s website are the Athens-Limestone Beautification Board, Adopt-A-Spot and recycling programs for tires, used vehicles and the fats, oils and grease in one’s kitchen.

“With the community, the city, the county, the area businesses and all our volunteers, it’s amazing what we accomplish with the budget our organization works under,” Hart said. “… I know KALB will continue to be the vibrant organization it currently is.”

In the meantime, she hopes to use her retirement to explore her other interests. Hart said first on her list are some home improvement projects — “my garage desperately needs to be cleaned” — but she also looks forward to having time for painting, pottery and even travel.

“I want to do it while I’m still healthy,” she said, adding that travel in particular is something she had planned to do with her husband, who had multiple sclerosis. “We hoped to travel as we got old together, but that didn’t happen. I lost him in 2013.”

The beach and Aruba are on her to-visit list, as is pretty much anything in the western United States.

“I have never traveled west of the Mississippi River, and I really hope I get to see the rest of my own country,” the 66-year-old said.