Since the mid-1990s, Victoria County, Texas has had difficulty meeting EPA's national air quality standards for ozone. With the goal of improving air quality in Victoria, Wayne Watkins, local City Council member, Jerry James, Director of Environmental Services, and Joni Brown, Victoria Air Quality Program Coordinator, are leading the city's efforts to educate the public about air quality issues. The city's program - Air Victoria--Keep It Clean - uses education and outreach activities to inform residents about the effects of poor air quality on their community.

Air Victoria's approach to public education on air quality is unique because it does not invoke any ordinances or laws, but instead relies on voluntary support and cooperation. Through the program, all citizens of Victoria County learn about air quality concerns via civic organization presentations, classroom presentations, public education events, media outlets and on the Web.

In preparation for National Car Care Month earlier this year, Ms. Brown was looking for resources when she discovered the It All Adds Up Web site. She was thrilled to find the marketing resources in particular, because there's a "shortage of them in Victoria," she said.

Ms. Brown reached out to local radio stations and secured their agreement to air both the pre-recorded and live-read Spring season It All Adds Up radio ads.

About the same time, Air Victoria was considering how to spend $20,000 in its air quality outreach and education budget for the remainder of the year. To decide the most effective way to spend the money, Ms. Brown called together Victoria's Air Quality Outreach Education Committee, a coalition of local government officials, industry leaders and business owners. When several members suggested hiring a public relations or marketing firm, Ms. Brown referred them to the It All Adds Up Web site and said, "There's no point in creating these resources when the DOT and EPA have already done it." So the committee agreed to leverage the money to buy TV advertising, which is relatively inexpensive in Victoria as compared to large cities such as Houston.

Since then, Ms. Brown also has developed a variety of other uses for the It All Adds Up print materials. She initiated a media blitz in May to educate the public about air quality issues through earned media placements; used the It All Adds Up spring newsletter template as a guide for a story for local newspapers and publications, and currently is working with the City of Victoria Utilities Department to include the It All Adds Up Three Simple Steps flyer in utility bills that will be mailed to 17,000 customer households in July.

In the City's efforts to partner and further leverage resources for free or low cost distribution, Ms. Brown also plans to work with the Cinemark movie theater chain in Victoria to play the It All Adds Up television ads before every movie this summer during ozone season. During the summer months, a reported 250,000 people go to the movies in Victoria, and each one of them will see the It All Adds Up TV ads.

Ms. Brown is just one of the many Community Partners who are finding unique ways to leverage the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air initiative locally. For more information on Air Victoria, visit their Web site at www.airvictoria.org. For more information on the other Community Partners, visit our Web site.