PERRY – The Houston County School System has been selected by Energy Education, Inc. to receive the company’s Energy Leadership Award. Dr. Truman Atkins, Southern Division President of Energy Education, Inc., will present the award to the Houston County Board of Education on Tuesday, April 15, at the board meeting. The Energy Leadership Award recognizes Houston County Schools’ outstanding performance in energy management and conservation, measured by reduction in energy consumption, amount of energy costs saved, environmental impact, and – as the award indicates – leadership in setting new standards for the stewardship of educational and tax dollars. In 1999, Houston County Schools formed a partnership with Energy Education, Inc. to design and implement a district-wide energy conservation plan. Energy Education, Inc. is the only company in the country dedicated exclusively to energy management consulting for public schools. Founded in 1986, the company has worked with 500 school districts in 44 states. Energy Education’s energy-saving program saved school districts more than $81 million in 2002, and has been instrumental in Houston County Schools’ energy savings of $2.5 million in the past four years. “The money saved from saving energy can be redirected into vitally important educational resources,” says Atkins. “These savings also represent a significant contribution to environmental protection on the part of Houston County Schools. In just 4 years, this district has prevented the emission of more than 26,000 tons of greenhouse warming gases into their community’s atmosphere.” According to formulas made available by the Environmental Protection Agency, Houston County Schools’ conservation has resulted in a reduction of greenhouse warming gases equivalent to removing the exhaust from 800 cars for one year or planting 1600 acres of trees, enough to cover Georgia’s Magnolia Springs and Seminole State Parks combined. The district saved enough kilowatt hours of electricity to provide lighting for 2700 households for one year – or 28 percent of Perry’s population. Superintendent Dr. Charles Holloway attributes the program’s success to two main factors: expertise and enthusiasm. “With Energy Education’s long-standing expertise in energy management, we had the tools to harness everyone’s enthusiasm to participate in the energy-saving program, which has been supervised very successfully on a local level by Gail Maye, our energy manager, and Dave McMahon, our director of maintenance.” And, there’s reason to be equally as enthusiastic about the energy program’s future. The program should save Houston County Schools an additional $2.8 million by the end of 2006. For more information on Houston County Schools / Board of Education, contact: Beth Burris, Director of Community & School Affairs, 988-6390, bburris@hcbe.net