Fairchild personnel receive alternate commuting awards

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Dustin Mullen
  • 92nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
Fairchild Air Force Base and four Airmen received awards at the Commute Trip Reduction Way-to-Go Award Luncheon, Feb. 7, in Spokane, Wash.

The awards ceremony recognized people and organizations who promote reducing their carbon footprint by using alternate transportation means, such as vanpool, walking or biking.

Fairchild AFB, along with 23 worksites in the region, were recognized as a silver work site at this year's event. The award is based off of worksites’ community involvement and efforts in encouraging employees to use commute alternatives.

“There are several reasons people use vanpools to get to work at Fairchild, including reducing commute times, expenses and decreasing greenhouse gases emitted from motor vehicles,” said Joshua Potter, 92nd Civil Engineer Squadron air quality engineer and CTR program manager for Fairchild AFB.

Currently, 71 members of Team Fairchild use the vanpool service. Four of those members were recognized for outstanding dedication to the program.
“It is nice to be recognized,” said Ty Smith, 92nd CES. “It is great because it can encourage others to do the right thing and it’s a good motivator to get people into ride-sharing.”

Although the CTR program predates Team Fairchild’s “Green in 19” initiative, they go hand-in-hand.

“The ‘Green in 19’ initiative focuses on environmentally-friendly practices and alternative commutes epitomize environmentally-friendly practices,” said Potter. “In 2018, Fairchild AFB vanpool users helped reduce roughly 280,000 miles from being driven on local roads. This saved nearly 100 metric tons of greenhouse gases from being emitted into the atmosphere. In addition, vanpooling helps reduce traffic congestion and wear and tear on the local infrastructure.”

To register for an online commute account visit MyCommute.org or for more information on the CTR program, contact Potter at 509-247-8139.