Nine local organizations and four individuals set the standard for increasing mobility in King County last year. The 2004 Diamond Award winners implemented a variety of innovative programs to reduce commute trips, including incentives for motivating employees to carpool or vanpool, work compressed schedules, telework and ride the bus.

Winners were selected from nearly 600 work sites affected by the 1991 Commute Trip Reduction Law and other voluntary programs. Commuter Challenge named 100 of these work sites “Pacesetters” for commitment to reducing commute trips.

King County Executive Ron Sims delivered the keynote address to the winners and guests at the breakfast ceremony on February 17, 2005. Sims congratulated the winners for being leaders in a transportation success story in Washington state, and noted that he found the breakfast’s keynote topic, “Government Responsibility, Business Opportunity” particularly fitting, given the political climate and planning efforts for the future of the Puget Sound region.

Judy Giniger, director of the Public Transportation & Rail Division of Washington State Department of Transportation, and Alice Collingwood, communications manager for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and vice chair of the Commuter Challenge Board of Directors, introduced the representatives from each of the winning organizations and provided a brief summary of their CTR programs for the audience.

Interviews with several Diamond Award winners can be viewed on the Commuter Challenge web site.

This year’s advertising campaign includes more than 375 radio spots aired in a four-week period on KIRO 710 AM, KOMO 1000 AM and public radio stations KUOW 94.9 FM and KPLU 88.5 FM, directing listeners to www.TheWinners.com. Advertisements were also run in the online versions of both the Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer. The campaign message and recognition of the winners are also being promoted through public relations and direct mail efforts.

An electronic version of this newsletter is online at www.CommuterChallenge.org. The web version also features:
• Complete profiles of winners,
• KUOW radio spots (links are in winners' profiles)
• Photos from the breakfast (links are in winners' profiles)

BACK TO COMMUTER CHALLENGE HOME PAGE