For Breeze Thru Car Wash, caring for the environment isn’t just part of the business, it’s a mission inspired by personal experience and a deep-rooted connection to the water. That mission begins with Wade Keith, the company’s Director of Community Engagement, whose lifelong relationship with rivers has shaped a growing effort to keep them clean and healthy.
A Childhood Spark in Alabama
Wade Keith’s story starts in a small town in Alabama, where childhood days were spent along the Locust Fork River. It was a place of adventure and discovery, like catching fish, hunting for crawfish, spotting turtles, and even encountering snakes. The river was not just a backdrop; it was a teacher, a playground, and a source of wonder.
But as Wade grew older, that sense of wonder began to shift. He noticed something troubling: increasing amounts of trash littering the riverbanks, especially near a cherished local landmark, a beautiful covered bridge.
“I could never understand why people would just throw away trash next to a beautiful landmark in our county,” Wade recalls. “I went from catching crawfish to cleaning up the river.”
That transition, from observer to caretaker, planted the seed for what would later become a larger movement.
A Deeper Connection in Colorado
Wade’s journey eventually brought him west to Colorado, where he worked as a raft guide on the Arkansas River. That experience deepened his appreciation for waterways, not only as places of recreation, but as vital ecosystems that demand respect and protection.
Living and working so closely with the river reinforced a simple but powerful truth: clean rivers don’t happen by accident; they require stewardship.
After moving from Canon City to Fort Collins, Wade joined Breeze Thru Car Wash. Even before his role expanded into community engagement, the same instinct to protect rivers remained part of his routine.
“When we were slow at work, I would go and clean the river banks behind our car wash and would come back with bags full of trash,” Wade explains. “I did this once a quarter, and the results were always the same.”
A Turning Point on the Poudre River
One moment in particular crystallized the need for a larger, organized effort.
While fishing near the Mulberry bridge, close to the intersection of Lemay and Mulberry, Wade experienced an abrupt and unsettling change. What had been a peaceful day on the river suddenly turned into a wake-up call.
“It was a great day of fishing until the river turned black and trash was floating in the river,” Wade says. “Why did this just happen? Who is actively littering the river upstream from our car wash? It was at that point that we needed to do something to combat the amount of trash that ends up in our rivers and organize river clean ups in our markets.”
That moment sparked action.
Turning Vision into Action
Determined to make a difference, Wade began reaching out to city officials to organize clean-up efforts. Although initial attempts did not gain traction, persistence paid off when the City of Loveland stepped forward to collaborate.
Since that partnership formed, Breeze Thru Car Wash has successfully organized five river cleanups along the Big Thompson River, each one building momentum and community involvement.
A Community Comes Together
This year marked a particularly meaningful milestone. Breeze Thru joined forces with Odell Brewing Company and the Coalition for the Poudre River Watershed, creating a large-scale, collaborative cleanup event.
Multiple crews worked across different sections of the river, expanding the reach and impact of the effort. Two of those crews focused specifically on areas behind the Breeze Thru car wash location, targeting sections Wade had personally cleaned in the past.
The results were remarkable: one and a half dumpsters filled with trash were removed from the riverbanks in that area alone. Combined with the work of other crews, the event stood as a powerful example of what community collaboration can achieve.
A Reflection of Community Values
For Wade and Breeze Thru Car Wash, the cleanup efforts go beyond removing debris; they are about fostering a culture of care and responsibility. Clean Car. Clear Conscience.
“The river is life and is a vital part of our community,” Wade emphasizes. “The way we treat our river is a reflection of how we treat our community. We have wonderful people in our community, and the fact that we come together to keep it clean says a lot about the community we live in. We live in a wonderful place, let’s keep it clean!”
Looking Ahead
What began as a child’s curiosity along the Locust Fork River has evolved into a growing initiative that brings people together across Colorado. Breeze Thru Car Wash’s river cleanup efforts demonstrate how one person’s passion can inspire a broader movement, one that protects natural resources, strengthens community ties, and ensures that future generations can enjoy clean, vibrant rivers.
And for Wade Keith, the mission remains simple: care for the water, and the water will continue to care for the community.