CAPCOG recognized four recipients with Air Central Texas Awards during its General Assembly meeting on December 11 in Austin. The awards celebrated organizations and individuals who have significantly contributed to sustaining or improving the region’s air quality while also inspiring future actions that support the CAPCOG Clean Air Coalition’s ongoing regional air quality planning efforts.
“The 2024 Air Central Texas Awards recipients highlight the diversity of stakeholders involved in protecting air quality in Central Texas,” said Anton Cox, CAPCOG Air Quality Program manager who presented the awards. “This year we had a weather reporter who covered hard air quality topics in the news, a community group that works with mines and batch plants, a nonprofit organization working to improve energy efficiency in buildings, and a public sector staff member that has dedicated 20 years of her career to air quality issues in the region. Air quality is a complex issue, and the region is lucky to have the buy-in of these great recipients and many others.”
The Recipients
South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER) received the 2024 Air Central Texas Outstanding Organization Award. Through their Building Operator Certification (BOC) training course that teaches energy-saving strategies, SPEER has trained more than 400 building operators. These efforts contribute significantly to air quality improvements, as buildings account for 35 percent of the nation’s carbon emissions.
Chikage Windler received the 2024 Air Central Texas Media Award for her exceptional media coverage of air quality and air quality issues within the past year as chief meteorologist at CBS Austin. Through her leadership, the CBS weather team has consistently promoted clean air and sustainability, raising awareness within the community on issues surrounding sustainability.
The Coalition for Responsible Environmental Aggregate Mining (CREAM) received the 2024 Air Central Texas Environmental Education Award for its efforts in improving public awareness of environmental issues associated with quarries and CBPs in Williamson County. The organization held a panel discussion on the subject in Georgetown, with Texas Representative Terry Wilson among the 250 participants.
Adele Noel received the 2024 Bill Gill Central Texas Air Quality Leadership Award for her distinguished work as the Air Quality Environmental Project Manager for Travis County. Noel has been a stalwart member of CAPCOG’s Clean Air Coalition Advisory Committee and other organizations like the Clean Air Force of Central Texas for years, frequently serving in leadership roles. She also advocates encouraging and enabling the use of cleaner fuels and technologies in Travis County’s fleet department. She’s helped to promote Travis County’s anti-idling rules and worked with the constable’s office to assist with Travis County’s efforts to reduce the number of vehicles operating in the region with fake vehicle registration plates.
Get more details and photos on the Air Central Texas website.
About Air Central Texas: Air Central Texas is an initiative to reduce exposure to air pollution in Central Texas through voluntary actions as guided by CAPCOC’s Clean Air Coalition. Its partners include local governments, regional and state government agencies, nonprofits, businesses, and institutions. One of CAPCOG’s many policy or advisory committees, the Clean Air Coalition consists of local elected officials and stakeholders that discuss air quality issues and planning efforts.