Lyle Nicely

This month, we recognize the efforts of Lyle Nicely for helping make Mentone a lot cleaner. Lyle has lived in Mentone since 1986, and he’s been participating in the Mentone Area Annual Community Cleanup & Cookout for many years. In fact, he is integral to the program’s organization, even supplying trash grabbers and safety vests and installing the big sign on the corner of the Mentone Inn property.

Lyle’s heart is in promoting and preserving the harmony between people and their surroundings. In addition to his efforts as a community volunteer, he is professionally dedicated to sustainable, efficient building design and construction through his firm, Ecological Designs.

Cleanup day is a work day, but it is also a time for neighborly fun. Folks join in the potluck feast with as much enthusiasm as they have for clearing our roadsides of refuse. Lyle is in awe of how many people in the area dedicate themselves to a length of roadside and routinely pick up discarded garbage — without seeking credit or recognition. “They’re the important ones,” he says.

He takes little credit for his role in the cleanup effort, because he’s just one of many. But this month, we’d like to say thank you to him for helping keep Mentone beautiful.