The Greater Waco Chamber has won first place in the 2009 Keep Texas Beautiful Civic Organization Leadership Award project category. The honor recognizes the efforts of the Chamber to enhance their community and protect the Texas environment.
The Greater Waco Chamber opened the first green Chamber building in America June 6, 2008. The 14,000-square-foot building was designed and constructed to meet the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standards at the gold level set through the U.S. Green Building Council.
The building at 101 S. Third St. serves as the marketing center for Greater Waco and features 48 photovoltaic solar panels provided through Green Mountain Energy’s Big Texas Sun Club. In addition, the building consumes about 20 percent percent less energy than conventional construction and boasts Waco’s only living roof.
Chamber President and CEO James G. Vaughan Jr. said the Chamber’s building is a flagship for green construction in Greater Waco and testament to the hard work and commitment of the organization’s investors who made it possible.
“We are honored to receive this outstanding recognition from a respected statewide organization such as Keep Texas Beautiful. This is a special award for certain as we continue to elevate Waco as Texas’ green livable city,” said Vaughan.
“The Chamber is providing opportunities for our business community to learn more about the LEED process and to be recognized for exceptional green business practices through our Waco We Do It Green committee.”
The Chamber will host Business Goes Green, Earth Day ’09 from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. April 22. The event will include a conference with short presentations about sustainable projects in the community, roundtable discussion opportunities for participants, a panel discussion on best practices for small business and the launching of the Green Business Recognition Program.
Each year, Keep Texas Beautiful acknowledges deserving civic organizations, senior citizens, community groups, individuals, media, government entities and law enforcement officials for their commitment to litter prevention and cleanup, illegal dumping enforcement, education and publicity of environmental issues and community beautification. The Chamber award is one of nine categories in the Keep Texas Beautiful Awards program.
Award winners will be recognized during the 42nd Annual Keep Texas Beautiful Conference, June 8-11 in Houston. A full list of winners and award descriptions can be found at KTB.org.
Keep Texas Beautiful, a statewide grassroots environmental and community improvement nonprofit, strives to educate and engage Texans to take responsibility for improving their community environment. KTB and its more than 360 affiliates work with government, businesses, civic groups, and volunteers to ensure that every Texan has the opportunity to make Texas the cleanest, most beautiful state in the nation. For more information,, call 1-800-CLEAN-TX.
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