2015-2016 PARTNER OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to the City of Grand Prairie!
Based on criteria in the Air North Texas Partner Agreement and information provided on the annual progress report, the City of Grand Prairie was selected as the 2015-2016 Air North Texas Partner of the Year.
Grand Prairie was chosen by an award committee composed of North Central Texas Council of Governments staff and previous Air North Texas award recipients; they implemented a comprehensive outreach and communications plan that included events, social media and employee engagement.
Grand Prairie's efforts to raise awareness about air quality took place throughout the year and included regular social media posts, air quality alerts, articles in city newsletters and promotion at several citywide events. These efforts culminated with the Clean Air Challenge, an annual contest held by the City to encourage employers and businesses to make clean air choices. Major participants included Turbomeca USA and Lockheed Martin, the winner of this year’s challenge.
Continue reading to learn about six other partners - City of Plano, Hood County Clean Air Coalition, UNT Health Science Center, City of Fort Worth, DFW Airport, City of Dallas - who were recognized for outstanding performance in particular categories for 2015-2016.
City of Plano
Outstanding Media Engagement
The City of Plano was recognized for outstanding media engagement for publishing articles about Air North Texas, ozone season and Clean Air Action Day in multiple city newsletters sent to tens of thousands of residents.
Hood County Clean Air Coalition
Outstanding Advertising
For the second year in a row, Hood County Clean Air Coalition was awarded outstanding advertising for using a series of three public service announcements to promote clean air commitments that ran daily on Granbury TV in March. One of these PSAs aired regularly on local radio station KTFW 92.1, reaching listeners in parts of 12 counties running from March through August. Additionally, the coalition expanded into print media, running ads during ozone season in Granbury Showcase, a local magazine.
UNT Health Science Center
Outstanding Outreach
The University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) was awarded outstanding outreach for using both traditional and digital strategies to engage students, faculty, staff and campus visitors about air quality issues. UNTHSC featured messages about Air North Texas on its Office of Sustainability website and Facebook page, distributed Air North Texas branded items and brochures to conference attendees and highlighted clean air initiatives at events for new students.
City of Fort Worth
Outstanding Partner Involvement
For engaging other Air North Texas partners in its efforts to promote air quality, the City of Fort Worth was honored for outstanding partner involvement. In April, Fort Worth hosted the North Central Texas Council of Governments and other partners at its annual Earth Party celebration and also participated in UNTHSC’s Earth Aware Picnic. Numerous partnerships with community groups and neighborhood organizations have also helped support the city’s efforts to lower emissions.
DFW International Airport
Outstanding Initiative
Strategic thinking helped Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, a new Air North Texas partner, win recognition for outstanding initiative. The airport hosted an internal contest for its 1,800 employees on Clean Air Action Day, a regional event held on the first Friday of summer every year to encourage North Texans to make clean air commitments. Employees were able to pledge their support by committing to actions such as carpooling or packing a lunch to help reduce vehicle emissions. In the days leading up to the contest, dozens of employees also completed Ozone 101, a voluntary online training course provided by the airport to increase knowledge about air quality.
City of Dallas
Arlo Ambassador
The City of Dallas received the first-ever Arlo Ambassador Award for advancing the Air North Texas message through the campaign mascot. Arlo the Airmadillo is a native North Texan who loves playing outdoors and visiting local sights while being affected by asthma. Dallas made creative use of Arlo in Facebook messages promoting Clean Air Action Day, fitting him with a superhero cape and cleverly placing him in familiar office settings to demonstrate how individuals can make clean air choices.