The Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition will recognize recent local, regional, and national award winners from Middle Georgia who have been recognized for their excellence in promoting improved air quality. These individuals and organizations will be recognized during the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition’s November meeting.

Mr. Ned Sanders is the former Chairman of the Houston County Board of Commissioners. His pioneering work in the early 2000s led to the creation of the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition. In recognition of his long career working to improve the air quality of Middle Georgia, he was recently selected as the 2019 EPA Clean Air Excellence Award recipient for the Thomas W. Zosel Outstanding Individual Achievement award. This award is only awarded once per year on a national level. Thursday will be Chairman Sanders’ first local recognition of this award.

The Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition itself was recognized for its commitment to reducing emissions with the Southeast Diesel Collaborative’s Visionary Leadership Award. Greg Tapley, Chairman of the Clean Air Coalition, received this award at the Southeast Diesel Collaborative’s annual meeting. Past recipients include the City of Chattanooga and Mayor Buddy Dyer of Orlando, Fla.

For the fourth year, the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition will also award the Ned Sanders Scholarship to a student studying air quality and environmental science at Mercer University. Thursday’s recipient will be Ms. Ariel Dornisch. Ms. Dornisch is a senior environmental engineering student who has studied indoor air quality in the Dominican Republic and co-authored a paper that was presented at the Air and Waste Management Association's Annual Convention, which was held in Quebec City in July.

Finally, the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition will announce its first group of community recipients for its new Certificate of Excellence and Achievement award. Guests are welcome to attend tomorrow’s meeting, which will be held from 4:00 pm – 5:00 pm on Thursday, November 14, 2019, at the Middle Georgia Regional Commission office, located at 175 Emery Hwy. Suite C, Macon, GA 31217.