Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition
Time and money are tight for the Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition (MGCAC). So, they are more than happy to be another shiny spoke in the air quality wheel—as long as they don't have to reinvent it.
At little or no cost, this innovative team gets the word out about air quality wherever they go. If a crowd is expected to gather in central Georgia, MGCAC plans on being there; and if they can get their hands on some free, quality resources to help educate the public about improving air quality and traffic congestion, even better.
"We try to partner with groups who are already doing events and then come in and add another level to it," said Charise Stephens, mobile source coordinator for MGCAC and executive director of the Middle Georgia Clean Cities Coalition. "We may not have a huge budget but we do have a lofty goal, which is one of the reasons why we love It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air."
After a neighboring air quality coordinator told Charise about It All Adds Up two years ago, she immediately saw the value in using the initiative, which today plays a crucial role in reaching thousands of residents in the seven-county region. "It's a godsend—it makes my job so much easier," she said. "The materials are great and they're exactly what we needed." MGCAC favors the It All Adds Up simple steps, seasonal Flash animations, air quality quizzes, fact sheets, and various phrases and language from the It All Adds Up Web site.
Wheels and Deals
Charise also works tirelessly to establish relationships with area businesses, politicians, and the media—all important conduits for delivering clean air messages to the public.
After Bell South and the City of Macon donated a brand new compressed natural gas van to MGCAC, Charise recruited Hidden Graphics, a local graphic design company, to step in and produce the van's artwork at a steep discount.
"Providing the graphics for the van at a reduced cost just seemed to be the right thing to do—the work they do is so vital to our community," said Hidden Graphics owner, Nancy Rush of Macon. "Of course I had hoped it would help my business in the long run, which it has."
Rush said she saved MGCAC about $400 on the clean air van and continues to work with them providing low-cost artwork and signage.
"That's my outreach mobile—I drive it every day. It's a moving billboard," said Charise. "It's our one-stop shop during events, too. People ask about the alternative fuel portion of it and then we have all of our educational materials on the inside."
If the Shoe Fits, Wear It
When Charise participated in Macon's Beyond a Billion event (a national celebration in October by Clean Cities coalitions to mark the displacement of more than a billion gallons of petroleum) she found a way to tie in It All Adds Up. "We had a car clinic where we talked about maintaining your vehicle and passed out proper vehicle maintenance information from It All Adds Up."
It All Adds Up also made its way into the February kick-off event for the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame's 10,000 Steps initiative, which encourages walking to improve health. "It was a perfect opportunity to tie in the 10 Simple Steps and get people thinking about how walking is also good for the air," Charise said. To recruit volunteers, she e-mailed the event flyer and registration forms along with the It All Adds Up 10 Simple Steps and wavy blue tagline. On walk day, Charise's Middle Georgia CAN! (Clean Air Network) team wore T-shirts emblazoned with the 10 Simple Steps. "I just copied the steps onto the shirts—I didn't have to modify anything."
MGCAC also partnered with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Georgia earlier this year for the Tour de Georgia event to promote the community's new bike paths. While the Sheriff's Department and Macon Police Department discussed bike safety with the kids, Charise talked to the parents, handed out It All Adds Up bike flyers, and had everyone take the 
air quality quiz (PDF, 72KB).
"It was one of the best events we did," she said. "We talked to about 100 parents about bike riding as an alternate mode of transportation, which spurred discussion and interest in the clean air coalition and why what we do is so important."
Andrew W. Stansell, administrative officer for the City of Macon, said he's very pleased with MGCAC and Charise's passion and progress. "I think she has made a significant impact in our community—it's been overwhelmingly helpful. She just goes out there and does what needs to be done."
To make air quality education more appealing to youngsters, Charise's daughter, Kayla, wears a little princess crown and strolls the grounds at events extolling the virtues of practicing the simple steps. "We officially made Kayla the Little Miss Clean Air, whom the kids seem to look up to—she's very friendly," Charise said. "I have a son, too, and they both help me out a lot. They're my little clean air ambassadors … always out there soliciting the kids to come by and learn."
Rubbing Elbows, Sharing Stories
Charise's savvy public relations also gets her the coveted spot on television and in newspapers.
"We don't have an advertising budget, so I try to attract media coverage by focusing on human-interest stories," said Charise, who keeps local reporters and producers informed with air quality e-mails, smog alerts, phone calls, and press invites to various events. "I try to keep media people informed. I see a lot of reporters around town during lunch so I build a rapport with them—I think they respect that. On that particular day they may not need your story, but you're going to be in the backs of their minds on a day when they do."
Charise also applies the PR tips she learned at the It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air Roundtable at a past U.S. EPA/STAPPA-ALAPCO National Air Quality Conference in San Antonio.
"I was so excited to be there. It was very informative," she said. "We talked about bringing on new partners, such as doctors' offices and the media, and how to make them feel part of a bigger 'movement' and also how to tie-in local meteorologists. That was particularly useful, because we were just getting ready to start a smog notification program."
Sure enough, shortly after MGCAC rolled out its color-coded smog alert program, a local TV station invited Charise to speak about air quality on their midday news show, which repeats at 5 and 6 p.m.
"We also do a quarterly show on the public access channel where I talk about the tips and do the air quality quiz," she said. "At the end, my daughter holds a calculator in front of the camera and says, 'It All Adds Up to Cleaner Air!' "
Onward and Upward
MGCAC simply refuses to miss out on an opportunity to generate air quality buzz.
When the state invited public comments on the development of Georgia's State Energy Strategy in July, Charise's comments proposed the state implement It All Adds Up as a statewide air quality outreach program. "We're also working on something to present directly to the governor that says It All Adds Up should be adopted statewide, because it is just a really good resource," she said. "Right now we have many counties in non-attainment so this would be a perfect way for all of us to work on it together and create some synergy!"
During the 2006 Bioenergy conference, Charise set up an It All Adds Up display table and worked hard to recruit stakeholders who were there. "There was a lot of interest," Charise said, adding that It All Adds Up also caught the attention of a local businessman who said he wanted to share the information with teachers in Tifton, Georgia.
After two years on the outreach circuit, Charise said it's time for MGCAC to start thinking about doing some research and evaluation to measure public awareness. Until then, anecdotal evidence suggests the It All Adds Up message is sinking in.
Charise explains: "I went out to lunch the other day when we had a code orange alert and there were two ladies sitting near me. I overheard them talking about it and what they could do to help…. It actually brought tears to my eyes."
To learn more about Middle Georgia Clean Air Coalition's activities, contact Charise Stephens at charise.stephens@macon.ga.us or give her a call at (478) 751-9178.