Finalists for Atlanta's 5th Annual Cox Conserves Heroes Program Announced
Atlanta - 10/01/2013
The Trust for Public Land and Channel 2 WSB-TV today announced Imran Battla, John Gordon and Bill Lide as finalists for Atlanta's 5th annual Cox Conserves Heroes program. Voting is open to the general public at http://www.wsbtv.com/coxconservesheroes through 5 p.m. on October 28.
The program recognizes volunteers who are creating, preserving or enhancing outdoor spaces. The winner will receive $10,000 to donate to his or her selected nonprofit beneficiary, and the finalists each will receive $2,500 for their nonprofits of choice.
The finalists' nonprofits of choice are:
- Imran Battla: West Atlanta Watershed Alliance
- John Gordon: Friends of English Avenue
- Bill Lide: Park Pride
A judging panel of civic and environmental leaders selected the three finalists. The finalist who receives the most votes will be announced as Atlanta's 2013 Cox Conserves Hero on Nov. 12.
The judging panel included: EarthShare of Georgia's Executive Director Madeline Reamy, Environmental Protection Agency's Sustainable Communities/ Partnerships Lead Camilla Warren, Georgia Environmental Finance Authority's Land Conservation Program Manager Andrew Szwak, Sustainable Atlanta's Executive Director Suzanne Burnes and Sustainability Expert Polly Sattler.
Donna Shearer, Na'Taki Osborne-Jelks, Angel Poventud, and Don Wells are Atlanta's previous Cox Conserves Heroes and also served as judges this year.
Financial support from Cox Conserves Heroes has helped build trails, plant trees, provide environmental education, maintain parks, as well as create outdoor classrooms and certified wildlife habitats at area schools throughout Metro Atlanta.
The following Metro Atlanta organizations have received financial support from the Cox Conserves Heroes program: Elachee Nature Science Center, Georgia Organics, Historic Fourth Ward Park Conservancy, Johns Creek Community Wildlife Habitat, Keeping It Wild, Kirkwood Neighbors Organization, Mountain Stewards, Park Pride, R.E.D.E.E.M Community Outreach, Save Georgia's Hemlocks, Sustainable Norcross, Trees Atlanta, and the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance.
The Cox Conserves Heroes program was created through a partnership between The Trust for Public Land and Cox Enterprises, the parent company of Channel 2 WSB-TV, to honor everyday volunteers. The program also runs in Arizona, Louisiana, Orange County (Calif.), San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara (Calif.) and Virginia. More than $350,000 has been donated to local nonprofits and more than 100 volunteers have been honored through the Cox Conserves Heroes program.
For more information, visit CoxConservesHeroes.com or Facebook.com/CoxConservesHeroes.
