Cox Conserves Heroes FAQ

Cox Cox Conserves Heroes is an awards program created by Cox Enterprises and The Trust for Public Land (TPL). It seeks to honor those Heroes among us who work to create, preserve, improve, or enhance the shared outdoor places in our communities. These include natural open spaces such as parks, greenways, gardens, plazas, streets and public squares. By improving our shared environment, these conservation Heroes make our communities better places for everyone to live. For each winning Hero, a $5,000 donation will be made to his/her environmental non-profit organization of choice. Winners will be recognized locally and nationally in TPL and Cox media channels.

Seattle Media Partner:
KIRO-TV (www.kirotv.com) is a Cox Television station and CBS affiliate serving the greater Seattle metro area. Cox Television operates 15 television stations and two local cable channels in 11 markets, three national television sales representation firms, one national digital sales company and a Washington, D.C., news bureau.

For its inaugural year, the 2008 Heroes program will be held in three metropolitan areas: Seattle (eligible counties include: King, Snohomish, Pierce, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, Whatcom), Atlanta (metro-area: Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton) and a third market to be determined. For each winning Hero, a $5,000 donation will be made to his/her environmental charity of choice. Winners will be recognized locally and nationally in TPL and Cox media channels.

Examples of qualifying activities include:

• Cleaning up/refurbishing a park or public place
• Helping to provide public access to a previously inaccessible place
• Beautifying a public place, e.g. planting/ tending to a community garden
• Volunteering at a local park
• Water conservation/protection-related projects
• Creating a program that gets people to public places
• Donating and/or assisting in the acquisition of land for public use
• Advocacy, education and/or community outreach for parks and open space

Who is Cox Enterprises Inc?

With 2007 revenues of $15 billion and more than 83,000 employees, Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises is a diversified broadcasting, publishing, e-commerce, broadband telecommunications and entertainment company that also specialize in auto auctions, classifieds and repair. Major operating subsidiaries include Cox Communications, Manheim, Cox Newspapers, Cox Auto Trader, Cox Television and Cox Radio (NYSE: CXR). In addition to hundreds of local media outlets, Cox also owns Travel Channel, AutoTrader.com, Valpak and Kudzu.com. Cox is committed to its local communities and protecting the environment through programs such as Cox Conserves, which is designed to reduce the company's energy consumption by 20 percent by 2017.

KIRO-TV (www.kirotv.com) is a Cox Television station and CBS affiliate serving the greater Seattle metro area. Cox Television operates 15 television stations and two local cable channels in 11 markets, three national television sales representation firms, one national digital sales company and a Washington, D.C., news bureau.

Who is The Trust for Public Land?

The Trust for Public Land (TPL, www.tpl.org) is a national nonprofit organization that conserves land for people to enjoy as parks, community gardens, historic sites, rural lands, and other natural places. Since 1972, TPL has worked with willing landowners, community groups, and national, state, and local agencies to complete more than 3,500 land conservation projects in 47 states, protecting more than two million acres. Since 1994, TPL has helped states and communities craft and pass over 330 ballot measures, generating almost $25 billion in new conservation-related funding.

How do I apply or nominate someone for a Cox Conserves Heroes award?

You may nominate yourself or someone else by completing and submitting the online application available on the Cox Conserves Heroes website: www.coxconserves.com/heroes. Opportunities to nominate Heroes:

• Atlanta: TBA in 2009
• New Orleans: TBA in 2009
• San Diego: TBA in 2009
• Seattle: 2008 nomination period has concluded and voting is underway. Nominations will be accepted again in 2009.

Individuals of all ages may apply or be nominated for a Cox Conserves Heroes award. We look for individuals, who have helped create, protect, and/or care for a special place in their community and who, through their commitments, inspire ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Nominees must live within the geographic boundaries defined by each Awards program.

• Seattle eligible counties include: King, Snohomish, Pierce, Clallam, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, Kitsap, Lewis, Mason, Pacific, Pierce, San Juan, Skagit, Thurston, Whatcom
• Atlanta eligible counties include: Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Pickens, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton
• New Orleans eligible parishes: TBA
• San Diego eligible counties: TBA
• All ages eligible.

TPL and Cox employees and their immediate families are excluded from participation.

The Heroes online application allows you to enter up to three URLs where judges can view supporting materials including images, videos and other supporting documents. Should you be chosen as a finalist, the judging panel will contact you for any additional materials needed.

A conservation activity and/or project can take the form of any number of endeavors. The following criteria, while not absolute, are provided as a guide for assessing the eligibility of your project and assisting the judging panel in selecting finalists.

• The project should involve an outdoor public place that is accessible to and appreciated by the local community.
• An inspiring story that will motivate others.
• Activity should be something anyone can do.
• The activity/project must be located within the community as defined by each local awards program.
• Activity should not be:
  • One that's already prescribed.
  • Something required by one's job.

Examples of qualifying activities:

• Cleaning up/refurbishing a park or public place
• Helping to provide public access to a previously inaccessible place
• Beautifying a public place, e.g. planting/ tending to a community garden
• Volunteering at a local park
• Water conservation/protection-related projects
• Creating a program that gets people to public places
• Donating and/or assisting in the acquisition of land for public use
• Advocacy, education and/or community outreach for parks and open space

Cox Along with Cox Enterprises and TPL, Cox Conserves Heroes is presented by select local media partners in Cox markets. The program will take place in:

• Seattle: Voting currently taking place; available again in 2009
• Atlanta: TBA 2009
• New Orleans: TBA 2009
• San Diego: TBA 2009

A team comprised of TPL and Cox employees will screen the initial applicants to a pool of twenty. The Heroes Judging Circle, a panel of civic leaders within the conservation field, will select five finalists and meet with each to confirm authenticity and qualifications.