2025 All-America City Finalist – Snyder, TX

Snyder is a close-knit West Texas community with approximately 11,200 residents. Often described as “90 miles from anything,” the city lies between Lubbock, Abilene, and Midland, serving as a hub for surrounding farming and ranching areas. Its history is rooted in trading and ranching, later shaped by an oil boom. Today, Snyder balances tradition and progress with a strong emphasis on sustainability, community partnerships, and civic pride. Programs like Take Back Sparkle City, its largest annual cleanup, continue the legacy of its 1968 All-America City win.

Local leaders engage residents through public meetings, stakeholder interviews, surveys, and creative outreach such as mural unveilings and youth-led recycling initiatives. Tools like SeeClickFix, Connect Snyder, and STEAM Team initiatives promote two-way communication and help ensure the inclusion of underserved communities. Snyder’s civic capital thrives through collaboration among local government, schools, businesses, and volunteers. Grounded in data, creativity, and strong relationships, Snyder continues to build a clean, connected, and welcoming “Sparkle City.”

Keep Snyder Beautiful

In 2023, Keep Snyder Beautiful was established to unite city, chamber, school, and economic development leaders under a shared mission of litter prevention, beautification, and recycling. But the heart of the effort is community-driven and powered by volunteers, youth, nonprofits, and local businesses working side by side. Programs are supported by city staff and funded through local budgets, grants, and in-kind contributions, but the true engine is people power.

When residents voiced concerns about litter, illegal dumping, and neglected properties, the city listened—and Take Back Sparkle City was born. This community-wide cleanup, launched in 2023, empowers neighbors to help neighbors before code enforcement steps in. Volunteers collect items like tires and appliances, and others trim overgrown weeds. The results are stunning: over 317 tons of trash removed, tall weed violations down 66%, and 35 dilapidated structures cleared—restoring 860.18 tons of debris and a renewed sense of pride.

Community engagement continues to grow with projects like the Fall Sweep, which drew 60 volunteers to clean, plant flowers, and beautify downtown. Local artists painted dumpster murals, with four more large-scale pieces underway. A new landscaping ordinance encourages tree preservation, and a facade grant program, boosted by community support, awarded $389,000 to 23 businesses.

Together, these efforts are transforming Snyder—not just physically, but socially—into a more united, welcoming, and vibrant place to live.

The Snyder Bottle Recycling Challenge

As Snyder deepened its commitment to environmental stewardship, it recognized a need to improve recycling habits and engage youth in sustainability. In response, the City of Snyder partnered with the school district and the Keep Snyder Beautiful committee to launch the Annual Bottle Recycling Challenge: a hands-on, educational program that promotes recycling through friendly competition and community spirit.

Held each fall in celebration of Snyder Recycles Day and America Recycles Day, the challenge encourages students to collect plastic bottles and drop them off during a three-day event. What began in 2012 with 300 participants and 3,000 bottles has grown into a citywide tradition. In the past five years alone, residents have recycled more than 665,000 bottles, including 137,640 during the most recent challenge.

Students trade bottles for raffle tickets and prizes, while the Snyder Intermediate STEAM team leads outreach efforts by creating artwork, PSAs, and educational lessons for younger students. Tours of the city’s recycling center and landfill further deepen public understanding.

Supported by schools, city departments, local businesses, and volunteers, the program has expanded to include year-round drop-off bins and inspired additional environmental projects. More than a recycling event, the Snyder Bottle Challenge is a community-powered movement fostering civic pride and lifelong environmental responsibility.

Prepared and Proactive: Snyder Builds a Stronger Emergency Management System

Previously, Snyder’s emergency management was housed within the fire department, limiting the ability to take a proactive approach. In response to growing public concerns and increased natural threats—including hotter, drier conditions, wildfires, severe storms, and 441 earthquakes in the past year alone—the City of Snyder and Scurry County partnered to create a full-time Emergency Management Coordinator position in early 2024.

This role oversees disaster preparedness, response planning, and public outreach. Within the first year, Snyder has become a model for other communities. Key accomplishments include restoring NIMS compliance among city staff, updating the Emergency Operations Plan, and becoming the first jurisdiction in the region to transition to the state’s new THAPs/ESF emergency management framework.

Public engagement has grown through readiness guides, workshops, and booths at community events. Monthly meetings bring together over 50 leaders for feedback and tabletop exercises. Mutual aid agreements and MOUs with businesses have strengthened supply access during crises.

The coordinator has participated in two major disaster deployments, bringing back real-world insights. With over 100 staff training hours and 320+ hours of coordinator education, Snyder is enhancing community readiness, forging strong partnerships, and setting a regional standard for emergency preparedness.

Return to the complete list of the 2025 All-America City Award Finalists.