Don Wells Named as Atlanta’s 2009 Cox Conserves Hero

ATLANTA, 9/11/2009: WSB-TV announced Don Wells as Atlanta’s 2009 Cox Conserves Hero. Wells was nominated for the program, selected as a finalist by local environmental leaders, and ultimately chosen as the winner after receiving the most votes in an online public poll. Mountain Stewards, Wells’ environmental, nonprofit organization of choice, will receive a $5,000 donation.

As co-founder of Mountain Stewards, Wells volunteers his time and service as the organization’s president.

“When we created Mountain Stewards in 2003, we looked around and there were very few places for people to get out and hike in nature,” said Wells. “We formed this organization to raise money, design and build trails, as well as to maintain the areas. We’ve been building trails for five years and continue to do so. By the end of this year, we will have built 28 miles of trails open to the public.”

Wells is an avid advocate for conserving – and enjoying – the open spaces of the North Georgia Mountains. He designed and managed the creation of new recreation facilities at no cost to the state and involved counties. Wells also contributed to the creation of the Amicalola Falls wheelchair and stroller access trail, 18 miles of scenic trails and an interactive trail designed for a therapeutic riding program.

Wells was named as the 2009 Cox Conserves Hero for Atlanta on Thursday evening at a celebration sponsored by the Hotel Palomar in Midtown. The finalists included: Angelou Ezeilo, Doug Williams, Evonne Blythers and R.R. Harris. Video profiles of each can be viewed at www.CoxConservesHeroes.com.The Cox Conserves Heroes program was created through a partnership between The Trust for Public Land (TPL) and Cox Enterprises, a leading communications, media and automotive services company. The program seeks to celebrate local conservation in communities across the country.

About WSB-TV
WSB-TV is a Cox Media Group Station and the top-rated local newscast in the Atlanta, Ga. television market. Cox Media Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises, is an integrated broadcasting, publishing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of Cox Reps. With revenues exceeding $1.5 billion, the company operations include 15 broadcast television stations and 1 local cable channel, 86 radio stations, four metro newspapers, more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services.

About Hotel Palomar
Hotel Palomar Atlanta Midtown, Kimpton Hotels’ first hotel in Atlanta, sets in motion a new and exciting level of artful sophistication and style in the vibrant community of midtown Atlanta. Just a few blocks from the campus of Georgia Tech, Hotel Palomar Atlanta’s 21-story building features 304 guest rooms, all of them as luxuriously comfortable as they are effortlessly unique. Ready access to the sights and sounds of midtown Atlanta along with beautifully designed accommodations and unparalleled amenities expected of a Kimpton Hotel are what await our guests at this midtown Atlanta boutique hotel.

About The Trust for Public Land
The Trust for Public Land (TPL) is a national nonprofit land conservation organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, gardens, and natural areas, ensuring livable communities for generations to come. Since 1972, TPL has worked with willing landowners, community groups, and national, state, and local agencies to complete more than 3,900 land conservation projects in 47 states, protecting 2.5 million acres. TPL has helped states and communities craft and pass over 330 ballot measures, generating almost $25 billion in new conservation-related funding. In Georgia, TPL has conserved over 20,000 acres and has been instrumental in three primary programmatic areas: Parks for People (including the Atlanta BeltLine and other urban projects), Chattahoochee River Protection Campaign (Phase III) and Georgia Green (also called G2).

About Cox Enterprises
Cox Enterprises is a leading communications, media and automotive services company. With revenues exceeding $15 billion and more than 77,000 employees, the company’s major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications, Inc. (cable television distribution, telephone, high-speed Internet access, commercial telecommunications, advertising solutions and the Travel Channel); Manheim, Inc. (vehicle auctions, repair and certification services and web-based technology products); Cox Media Group, Inc. (television stations, digital media, newspapers, advertising sales rep firms and Cox Radio, Inc.); and AutoTrader.com (online automotive classifieds and related publications). Additionally, Cox’s Internet operations include Kudzu.com and Adify Corporation, a unit of Cox TMI, Inc.