The 6th Annual UCAIR Summit was a success! It looked a little different this year with precautions in place to abide by COVID-19 restrictions, but there was still plenty to report and celebrate. 2020 was a year full of change and that goes for the air and our organization as well.
One change that we are excited to highlight is our new Executive Director, Kim Frost. Kim comes from years of experience in the public and private sector and is a fresh welcome addition to the UCAIR organization.
While Kim spoke, she reminded us of UCAIR’s mission. She said, “UCAIR’s mission is threefold: We educate the public about how they can make a difference in Utah’s air; we bring people together in partnership to increase the impact of our individual actions; and we support innovative ideas with grant dollars.”
Additionally Kim shared several inspiring stories of local Utahns making simple changes that made big impacts on Utah’s air quality. Small changes like switching from wood burning stoves to helping others repair their bikes to support active transportation. We look forward to the future with Kim and her vision for clean air in Utah.
Our keynote speaker was Governor Spencer Cox, who has been a long supporter of UCAIR. Reaffirming UCAIR’s mission, Gov. Cox stated, “If 3.3 million people do one thing each day it will have a significant impact in our state for the better. Air quality is not a partisan or political issue; it’s a human issue.”
After hearing from the Governor we celebrated by presenting the annual UCAIR awards. Congratulations again to the following recipients:
– Bryce Bird from the Utah Division of Air Quality as Person of the Year
– Rocky Mountain Power as Business Partner of the Year
– Wasatch Front Regional Council as Community Partner of the Year
To close the night we honored former Governor Gary Herbert with the inaugural UCAIR Lifetime Achievement Award. Eight years ago, Governor Herbert’s vision brought about the Utah Clean Air Partnership, whose mission is to educate and encourage Utahns to make individual efforts toward blue skies and better air. As he received a standing ovation, he thanked all those who helped him achieve this award.
In closing the Summit Kim Frost said, “Together, we have clearly built a tremendous amount of positive momentum toward solving our air quality challenges, and we have new solutions ready to implement.” Indeed UCAIR looks forward to this next year and continued progress together.
