Awards Program Seeks Conservation Heroes in Western WA

SEATTLE, 4/13/2009: Do you know an everyday hero in your community who is making big strides today to ensure a greener tomorrow? Western Washington’s second annual Cox Conserves Heroes program is now accepting nominations at CoxConservesHeroes.com. The top vote-getter will receive $5,000 to donate to his or her environmental non-profit of choice.

Presented by KIRO 7, the Emmy Award-nominated Cox Conserves Heroes program honors people in our community who take it upon themselves to create, preserve or enhance places for everyone to enjoy-parks, greenways, gardens, waterways, plazas, streets and public squares. By improving our shared environment, these conservation heroes make our communities better places for all of us to live.

Five nominees selected by the Cox Conserves Judging Circle, a group of local environmental leaders, will be featured on CoxConservesHeroes.com. beginning May 25. Online voting will be opened to the public to select the winner.

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 examples of conservation in local communities across the nation.

In 2008 The Washington Wilderness Coalition received $5,000 on behalf of Mike Town, the first Cox Conserves Hero-Western Washington.

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 its founding in 1972, TPL has helped protect more than 2.5 million acres of land in 46 states. In the last 12 months, TPL has protected 11,700 acres in Washington valued at more than $18.5 million.

About Cox Enterprises www.coxenterprises.com
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 majority-owned, publicly-traded 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.

About KIRO 7 www.kirotv.com
KIRO-TV, Channel 7, is a Cox Media Group station and CBS affiliate serving Western Washington. Cox Media Group is a broadcasting, publishing and digital media subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises. It includes the broadcast stations of Cox Television; publishing titles of Cox Newspapers; majority-owned, publicly-traded Cox Radio [NYSE: CXR]; and the national advertising rep firms of Telerep, HRP, MMT Sales and Cox Cross Media.