Past Air Central Texas Awards
2020 Air Central Texas Awards
Air Central Texas held the awards for the fifth time in 2020 to recognize our region’s leaders who have made a significant difference in air quality in Central Texas. The 2020 Air Central Texas award categories included:
- Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award - recognizes an activity by an organization that has exhibited exceptional leadership on regional air quality issues within the past year.
- Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award - recognizes an individual who has had a significant and lasting impact on Central Texas air quality.
2020 Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award
Austin’s Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Program received the 2020 Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award for its commitment to decreasing the drive alone rate within Austin to reduce the impact of transportation emissions on regional air quality. In 2020, the TDM program’s public-facing Smart Trips Austin initiative expanded services city-wide to serve all Austinites by providing transportation information and personalized support in planning sustainable trips. Additionally, Smart Trips Austin launched a TDM resource website, GetThereATX.com. The site provides residents, employers, schools, and visitors with information about using sustainable modes of transportation to travel throughout Austin.
2020 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award
Travis County Judge Samuel Biscoe received the 2020 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award for his long and distinguished record of leadership and advocacy for protecting Central Texas’ air quality as a county judge and former CAC chair. Biscoe played a key role in ensuring that Travis County supported the region’s air quality plans in order to maintain attainment of federal air quality standards. When the region came close to violating the federal air quality standards for ozone in 2009, Travis County, under Biscoe’s leadership, developed “The Big Push” to educate the community and ensure the county used the most effective measures to change daily activities contributing to high ozone days. Biscoe served as a served as CAC representative for more than 10 years in order to support the regional effort toward the improvement of air quality.
2019 Air Central Texas Awards
Air Central Texas held the awards for the fourth time in 2019 to recognize our region’s leaders who have made a significant difference in air quality in Central Texas. The 2019 Air Central Texas award categories included:
- Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award - recognizes an activity by an organization that has exhibited exceptional leadership on regional air quality issues within the past year.
- Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award - recognizes an individual who has had a significant and lasting impact on Central Texas air quality.
2019 Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award
Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority received the 2019 Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization award for its commitment to being a sustainability service provider. In 2018, Capital Metro launched Connections 2025, a re-imagining of the transit service. This offered more frequent, connected and reliable service delivery which resulted in over 5% ridership increase - one of only a few transit agencies to see a significant increase in ridership. In 2020, Capital Metro will launch their first zero-emission electric buses. A total of ten buses will be put into service, and the North Ops Bus Depot will be transformed into one of the first fully electric ready bus depots with a capacity to expand the E-Bus fleet to over 180 buses.
2019 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award
Scheleen Walker, Travis County received the 2019 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award for her career in air quality planning. While managing Travis County’s Air Quality Program, Ms. Walker was an essential partner in the development and implementation of the region’s ground-breaking, voluntary air quality improvement agreements. Working with the Texas Commission on Environment Quality and US Environmental Protection Agency, the region was able to enact voluntary regulations to reduce ozone-forming emissions, and remain in compliance with the Clean Air Act’s standards for ground-level ozone. During Ms. Walker’s first tenure at Travis County she was instrumental in crafting vehicle emissions testing legislation, and supporting Travis County’s buy-in of the program. As Legislative Director for Representative Donna Howard, Ms. Walker she facilitated the region’s air quality legislative agenda, and worked with Rep. Howard to author and pass legislation allowing local enforcement of heavy- duty vehicle idling restrictions. Now in her current position at Travis County, Ms. Walker continues to support efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality in the County's long-range planning initiatives.
2018 Air Central Texas Awards
Air Central Texas held the awards for the third time in 2018 to recognition our region’s leaders who have made a significant difference in air quality in Central Texas. The 2018 Air Central Texas award categories included:
- Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award - recognizes an activity by an organization that has exhibited exceptional leadership on regional air quality issues within the past year.
- Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award - recognizes an individual who has had a significant and lasting impact on Central Texas air quality.
Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award
Leander and Eanes ISDs received the 2018 Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization award for their adoption, leadership, advocacy, on propane-fueled school buses. The conversion of a diesel school bus to propane is estimated to reduce Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) emissions by 1,488 pounds of NOx annually, and combined the ISDs are operating over 80 propane school buses. They were nominated by Lone Star Clean Fuels Alliance.
Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award
Pharr Andrews, City for Austin received the 2018 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award for her career at the City of Austin’s Air Quality program serving as the program’s coordinator. Andrews' helped develop of each of the region’s air quality plans, served on the Clean Air Coalition Advisory Committee including time as the committee's chair, helped transfer the Commute Solutions Program to CAPCOG, and supported major public outreach campaigns including the creation of CAPCOG's Air Central Texas Program and the CLEAN Air Force's outreach to local meteorologist. Pharr was nominated by her former co-workers at the City of Austin's Transportation Department.
2017 Air Central Texas Awards
We hosted the Air Central Texas Awards on Nov. 15, 2017 at Green Pastures Austin to celebrate the organizations and individuals who have made significant contributions to regional air quality in Central Texas and to promote future action on the part of the community to support the goals of the region’s ongoing air quality planning efforts. At the 2017 awards we gave out awards in the following categories;
- Air Central Texas Public Sector Award - recognizes action in the public sector that has help improved/protect regional air quality in the past year.
- Air Central Texas Private/Non-Profit Sector Award - recognizes action in the private or non-profit sectors that has help improved/protect regional air quality in the past year.
- Air Central Texas Media Award - recognizes outstanding media coverage (TV, print, radio, or digital) of air quality issues in the region.
- Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award - recognizes an individual who has had a significant and lasting impact on Central Texas air quality.
The Air Central Texas Public Sector Award
City of Austin – Transportation Department was awarded the Public Sector award for the Smart Commute Rewards program that incentivizes employees to change their commuting behaviors from single occupant vehicle use to more sustainable commuting options.
Air Central Texas Private/Non-Profit Sector Award
Movability was awarded the Private/Non-Profit Sector award for working with employers to improve access and mobility by helping employees and visitors find and use viable travel options to reduce driving alone at rush hour.
Air Central Texas Media Award
Emmis Communications Austin was awarded the Media awards for being a key media partner supporting the regional air quality messaging for at least a decade.
Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award
Cathy Stephens from the Travis County Government was awarded the Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership award for her career work helping to pass legislation to allow designations of near non-attainment areas in Texas, helping pass idling legislation, and was a key staff member in getting Travis and Williamson counties to be the only counties in the country to voluntarily implement a mandatory Vehicle Inspection & Maintenance program.
Air Central Texas would like to thank all of the 2017 Air Central Texas Awards nominees: City of Round Rock, Travis County Constable Stacy Suits, Endeavor Real Estate Group, Silicon Labs, CBS Austin – Weather Team, and David Allen from the University of Texas at Austin.
2016 Air Central Texas Awards
We hosted the first ever Air Central Texas Awards on Nov. 4, 2016 at the Embassy Suites San Marcos Hotel & Conference Center. Learn more about our recipients;
The Air Central Texas Public Sector Award
Former Williamson County Precinct 4 Commissioner Ronald Morrison posthumously received the 2016 ACT Public Sector Award Recipient for his longtime service and leadership on the Central Texas Clean Air Coalition and the Clean Air Force of Central Texas. Capital Metro and the City of Cedar Park were also nominated for the Public Sector Award.
The Air Central Texas Private/Nonprofit Sector Award
The Lone Star Clean Fuels Alliance received the 2016 Air Central Texas Private/Nonprofit Sector Award for their role in cleaning the air through various projects such as migrating vehicles to alternative fuels, converting much of the booming landscaping industry in Texas to propane mowers, and development of alternative fuel infrastructure. Texas Lehigh Cement Company and the Beyond Coal campaign were also nominated for the Private/Nonprofit Sector Award.
The Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award
Tom “Smitty” Smith received the 2016 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award for his work as the Director of Public Citizen’s Texas office since 1985, where he organized efforts that lead to the development of the renewable energy boom across Texas and the Texas Emission Reduction Program — both reduced air pollution in the Central Texas area and other parts of the state. This award is named in honor of CAPCOG’s former Air Quality Program Manager Bill Gill, who worked on air quality throughout his career and was instrumental in the establishment and success of the region’s air quality program. Former City of Austin and CAPCOG employee Fred Blood was also nominated for this award.