KIRO 7 and The Trust for Public Land Announce Helen Hoenig as Western Washington's 2016 Cox Conserves Hero

$20,000 being donated to local environmental nonprofits

SEATTLE, Sept. 21, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- KIRO 7 and The Trust for Public Land today named Helen Hoenig as Western Washington's 2016 Cox Conserves Hero. Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Hoenig's nonprofit beneficiary, will receive $10,000. The funding will be used to support the organization's Connecting Kids to Nature program.

Hoenig started picking up trash while walking from her house to the health club. It evolved into a passion for picking up trash. Her yellow trash bags and neon safety vest are easy to spot, and Hoenig's resolve to keep Washington green has made her a colorful local celebrity after being named Grand Marshall of the Duvall Days parade. Armed with her yellow bag and trash grabber, she continues to pick up litter and people's spirits.

The two finalists each will each receive $5,000 for their nonprofits of choice. Bill Hagen selected Carkeek Watershed Community Action Project as his nonprofit of choice; Kortney Okura chose Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust.

As either a finalist or winner's nonprofit of choice, the following Washington organizations have received financial support from the Cox Conserves Heroes program: EarthCorps, Forest Fire, Lookout Association – Western Washington, Greater Metro Parks Foundation, Green Tacoma Partnership, King Conservation District, Metro Parks of Tacoma, North Olympic Land Trust, Northwest Trek Foundation, Sustainable West Seattle, Washington Wilderness Coalition and WSU Island County Beach Watchers.

The Cox Conserves Heroes program was created through a partnership between The Trust for Public Land and Cox Enterprises, the parent company of KIRO 7. Through the overall Cox Conserves Heroes program, more than $700,000 has been donated to environmental nonprofits and 51 winners have been named. The program also takes place in Arizona, California, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts and Virginia.

About KIRO 7:
KIRO 7 is part of Cox Media Group, an integrated broadcasting, publishing, direct marketing and digital media company that includes the national advertising rep firms of CoxReps. Additionally, CMG owns Cox Target Media, which operates Valpak, one of North America's leading direct marketing companies, and Savings.com, a leading online source for savings. The company's operations currently include 14 broadcast television stations and one local cable channel, 60 radio stations, six daily newspapers and more than a dozen non-daily publications, and more than 100 digital services. CMG currently operates in more than 20 media markets and reaches approximately 52 million Americans weekly, including more than 31 million TV viewers, more than 3.5 million newspaper readers, and more than 14 million radio listeners. For more information about Cox Media Group, please check us out online at www.coxmediagroup.com.

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' 60,000 employees and their families to engage in eco-friendly practices.

http://www.coxconservesheroes.com

Social Media: #CoxConservesHeroes and #CoxConservesHero

SOURCE Cox Enterprises

For further information: KIRO 7: Jill Wiggins, jwiggins@kiro7.com; or Cox Enterprises: Elizabeth Olmstead, elizabeth.olmstead@coxinc.com; or The Trust for Public Land: Kristen Anderson, 415-495-4014, kristen.anderson@tpl.org