Cox and The Trust for Public Land Launch Arizona's 3rd Annual Cox Conserves Heroes Awards Program

Program sponsored locally by Goodwill of Central Arizona; $15,000 to be donated to local environmental nonprofits

PHOENIX, April 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Cox Communications, in partnership with The Trust for Public Land, is seeking nominations for Arizona's third annual Cox Conserves Heroes awards program. Sponsored locally by Goodwill of Central Arizona, the program is accepting nominations at www.cox7.com/cox-conserves for conservation volunteers in Metro Phoenix and Southern Arizona who are creating, preserving or enhancing outdoor spaces.

Nominations will be accepted through 5 p.m. MST on May 19, and a total of $15,000 will be donated to local environmental nonprofits on behalf of the winner and two finalists.

A judging panel comprised of civic and environmental leaders will select three finalists who will then compete to be named Arizona's 2014 Cox Conserves Hero. The winner, chosen through an online public vote, will receive $10,000 to donate to his or her selected nonprofit beneficiary. The two finalists each will receive $2,500 for their nonprofits of choice.

Nominee activities must be performed on a volunteer basis and may not be part of an individual's paid employment.

Arizona's 2014 Cox Conserves Heroes Timeline:

• Nominations:  April 14 – May 19 (5 p.m. MST)
• Voting:  July
• Winner Announcement: Mid-August

Melinda Gulick from Scottsdale and Brad Lancaster from Tucson are previous recipients of Arizona's Cox Conserves Heroes award. 

As either a finalist or winner's nonprofit of choice, the following Arizona organizations have received financial support from the Cox Conserves Heroes program: Desert Harvesters, McDowell Sonoran Conservancy, Mission Garden, Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center and Phoenix Mountains Preservation.

Cox Conserves Heroes also takes place in California (San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Barbara and Orange County); Georgia (Atlanta); Louisiana (Acadiana, Baton Rouge and New Orleans); Virginia (Fairfax County/Fredericksburg, Hampton Roads and Roanoke) and Washington (Seattle). More than $380,000 has been donated to local nonprofits and more than 100 volunteers have been honored through the Cox Conserves Heroes program.

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 metro Phoenix, Cox serves approximately 2.5 million product subscribers. In Southern Arizona, Cox serves approximately 400,000 product subscribers. Cox's 18,500-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 nine years, Cox has topped numerous J.D. Power and Associates' studies of customer satisfaction, most recently receiving top honors for residential telephone & high speed Internet, and business data services and has received PC Magazine's "people's choice" award for the sixth time. Additionally, Cox High Speed Internet has been ranked #1 for the past seven years on the "Ranking Arizona-Best of Arizona Business" list. Cox Media is responsible for the sale of cable advertising throughout Arizona. Cox Communications is a wholly owned subsidiary of Cox Enterprises Inc and serves approximately 6 million customers nationwide.

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. Nearly ten million people live within a ten-minute walk of a Trust for Public Land park, garden, or natural area, and millions more visit these sites every year. Learn more at 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, Manheim, Cox Media Group and AutoTrader Group) and encourages Cox Enterprises' 50,000 employees and their families to engage in eco-friendly practices.

About Goodwill of Central Arizona:
With 65 years of serving central Arizona's communities, Goodwill of Central Arizona is one of the oldest and largest nonprofit agencies in Arizona. Our Commitment is to Put People to Work throughout Arizona by providing job training and employment services to those with vocational disadvantages and disabilities that can include mental and emotional barriers, physical disabilities, welfare dependency, illiteracy and age. In 2013, we served more than 59,607 youth and adults on their quest toward self-sufficiency and secured more than 23,506 employment opportunities. For more information on Goodwill of Central Arizona, visit www.goodwillaz.org.

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; Summer Dunham, Goodwill of Central Arizona, 602-535-4037, summer.dunham@goodwillaz.org