Cox and The Trust for Public Land Announce Finalists for Arizona's Cox Conserves Heroes Program

Public asked to vote; program to donate $20,000 to environmental nonprofits in Arizona

PHOENIX, June 27, 2016 /PRNewswire/-- Cox Communications and The Trust for Public Land, sponsored locally by Desert Botanical Garden, today announced finalists for Arizona's 2016 Cox Conserves Heroes program.  Tim Flood, Dennis McClung and Shawn Redfield have been selected as finalists and the public is being asked to vote now through August 1. To vote, visit www.cox7.com/cox-conserves.

A total of $20,000 will be donated to local environmental nonprofits on behalf of the three finalists.

Finalists have already secured a $5,000 donation for their environmental nonprofits of choice, and are now competing for an additional $5,000 – bringing the total award to $10,000 for the winner's nonprofit of choice. The winner will be chosen through an online public vote.

Arizona's 2016 Cox Conserves Heroes Finalists:
Phoenix's Tim Flood has collected actionable data about water resources, at-risk bird species and Arizona's river conditions for more than a decade. His volunteer work helps inform policy and enables stakeholders to make sound decisions about the use of outdoor spaces. He also inspires other volunteers to deepen their commitment to hands-on conservation. His nonprofit of choice is Audubon Arizona.

Mesa's Dennis McClung designs sustainable food systems that use less outdoor space and water to grow organic produce. His scalable method is being replicated to help families and communities enjoy growing food together outside. He also educates the public on sustainability and distributes free vegetable seeds at participating libraries. His nonprofit of choice is Garden Pool.

Phoenix's Shawn Redfield serves as a fulltime volunteer trail director along the 800-mile path from Mexico to Utah. He connects people with land by engaging and inspiring volunteers of all ages to care for the Arizona Trail. Shawn has replaced 24 gates in southern Arizona over the past two years in addition to conducting trail work and installing signage to ensure visitors have a positive experience. His nonprofit of choice is Tucson based Arizona Trail Association.

The winner will be announced in late August. Scottsdale's Melinda Gulick, Tucson's Brad Lancaster and Marilyn Hanson, and Phoenix's Greg Clark are previous recipients of Arizona's Cox Conserves Heroes award. 

Cox Conserves Heroes also takes place in California, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Virginia and Washington. Through the overall Cox Conserves Heroes program, more than $650,000 has been donated to environmental nonprofits and more than 150 volunteers have been honored.

For more information, visit CoxConservesHeroes.com or Facebook.

Social Media: #CoxConservesHeroes and #CoxConservesHero

About Cox Communications:
Cox Communications is the third largest cable provider and a multi-service broadband communications company serving nearly 3 million residential and business product subscribers in Arizona (a product subscriber represents an individual service purchased by a customer). In the metro Phoenix, Cox serves approximately 2.5 million product subscribers. In Southern Arizona, Cox serves approximately 400,000 product subscribers. Cox's 18,000-mile hybrid fiber coaxial cable network throughout Phoenix and Southern Arizona provides homes and businesses with digital television, high speed Internet, home networking, high-definition television and digital telephone service over its own nationwide IP network. During the past four years, Cox has topped 10 J.D. Power and Associates' studies of customer satisfaction. Cox Media is responsible for the sale of cable advertising throughout Arizona. Cox Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises and serves approximately 6 million customers nationwide. Additional information about Cox in Arizona is available at www.cox.com/arizona.

About The Trust for Public Land:
The Trust for Public Land creates parks and protects land for people, ensuring healthy, livable communities for generations to come.  Millions of people live within a one-half mile walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year.  To support The Trust for Public Land and share why nature matters to you, visit http://www.tpl.org.

About Cox Conserves:
Launched in 2007 by Chairman Jim Kennedy, Cox Conserves is Cox Enterprises' national sustainability program. Cox Conserves focuses on reducing waste and energy consumption, as well as conserving water. The program engages each of the company's major subsidiaries (Cox Communications, Cox Automotive and Cox Media Group) and encourages Cox Enterprises' 55,000 employees and their families to engage in eco-friendly practices.

SOURCE Cox Communications

For further information: Andrea Katsenes, Cox Communications, 623-328-3272, Andrea.Katsenes@cox.com; Elizabeth Olmstead, Cox Enterprises, 678-645-0762, elizabeth.olmstead@coxinc.com; Kristen Anderson, The Trust for Public Land, 415-495-4014, kristen.anderson@tpl.org