2016-2017 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 named Air North Texas Partner of the Year for the second straight year. Grand Prairie developed a comprehensive campaign that includes website content, social media promotion, newsletter articles about air quality and coordination with promotion of Air North Texas at community events during ozone season.
Grand Prairie also encouraged companies to compete against one another to determine who could commit to the most new clean air initiatives through the Clean Air Action Challenge. Among the initiatives were creating a carpool parking spot, sending daily emails on clean air and encouraging employees to pledge on the Air North Texas website. A total of 647 pledges were made by companies in the city. Lockheed Martin led the way with 373 employee commitments recorded. Pratt & Whitney and Airbus Helicopters were also among the top challenge participants, recording strong employee involvement.
Continue reading to learn about four other partners - City of Plano, Hood County Clean Air Coalition, UNT Health Science Center, City of Dallas - who were recognized for outstanding performance in particular categories for 2016-2017.
City of Plano
Outstanding Partner Involvement
The City of Plano was recognized for outstanding partner involvement for encouraging other cities and Live Green in Plano air quality webpage visitors to become Air North Texas partners.
Hood County Clean Air Coalition
Outstanding Advertising
For the third consecutive year, the Hood County Clean Air Coalition was recognized for outstanding advertising. The Coalition sponsored three public service announcements that discussed car commitments, home commitments and smoking vehicles. In addition to the PSAs, the Coalition publicized Air North Texas through print ads throughout the 2017 ozone season.
UNT Health Science Center
Outstanding Initiative
The University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) was awarded outstanding initiative for creating its own Clean Air Action Day pledge in an effort to increase campus involvement and award participation. A total of 116 people took the pledge.
City of Dallas
Outstanding Outreach & Arlo Ambassador
The City of Dallas was recognized for outstanding outreach. Dallas used its website, social media platforms and advertising to promote Air North Texas, encouraging both the general public and its employees to make clean air commitments.
Additionally, Dallas was recognized with the Arlo Ambassador Award for incorporating Arlo the Airmadillo into a popular social media campaign encouraging participation in Air North Texas. In 2016, Dallas received the first ever Arlo Ambassador Award, named after the Air North Texas mascot.