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NewswireTODAY - /newswire/ -
Charlotte, NC, United States, 2007/10/10 - Clean Air Works! honored 12 companies and 10 individuals for their efforts to reduce ozone emissions and encourage alternative commute options in the Charlotte Area. Winners included Piedmont Natural Gas, Bissell Companies and Duke Energy.
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Clean Air Works! held its 2007 Champions Luncheon Tuesday at Harris Conference Center, honoring 12 companies and 10 individuals for their outstanding efforts to reduce ozone emissions and encourage alternative commute options.
Piedmont Natural Gas president and chief executive Tom Skains gave the keynote address, while John Wendel, meteorologist at WCNC, emceed the awards event. Dave Franchina, chairman of the Regional Air Quality Board, also spoke, and Mayor Pat McCrory, Commissioner Jennifer Roberts and Peter Pappas were on hand to congratulate the honorees.
“Since the inception of Clean Air Works!, we have been working to solve our air quality problem in a way that benefits everyone and takes advantage of the strengths of our business leaders,” said Franchina. “We are proud to honor these employers and individuals who recognize the importance of our mission.”
Twenty-two awards in six categories were presented at the event:
• The Best New Partner Award was presented to C design Inc., Houser Transport, Inc., NewDominion Bank, Sherpa, LLC and Vanguard for joining Clean Air Works! in 2007 and successfully implementing and maintaining their Clean Air Works! programs.
• The Spotlight Award for an outstanding operation and maintenance program was presented to Bowater.
• The Innovation Award was presented to American & Efird and Moore & Van Allen for the most creative or innovative solution or approach to implementing their Clean Air Works! projects.
• The Project Leader Awards went to those individuals who showed leadership, enthusiasm and creativity in the actual implementation of the project at their respective work sites. Those winners were Ray Fuentes from Coca-Cola Consolidated, Matt Kanes and Linda Benish from Piedmont Natural Gas, Philip Beard and Lisa Rhyne from Duke Energy and Kristen Boyd, Stacie Hicks and Sonia Sons from First Charter.
• The Executive Leader Award specifically recognizes an executive, CEO, owner or senior manager who has used his or her influence to improve air quality. The winners were Fred Jackson, president of American & Efird, and Mike Forrest, vice president-operations of Bowater.
• The Champions Awards were presented to the Partners that have best been able to influence their employees to use commute options, reduce trips and retool operations and maintenance activities. The Champions Award for a small business went to Bissell Companies, for medium business Piedmont Natural Gas and for large employer Citi Fort Mill and Duke Energy.
About Clean Air Works
Clean Air Works! (CleanAirWorks.org) is a project of the Regional Air Quality Board, a regional entity that brings together businesses, elected officials and public staff from cities and counties throughout the Charlotte region to work collaboratively on projects to improve air quality. The project is funded by Mecklenburg County Government and federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Funds (CMAQ) awarded through the Mecklenburg-Union Metropolitan Planning Organization.
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