Cox Communications and The Trust for Public Land announced finalists for Arizona’s 2013 Cox Conserves Heroes program. A total of $15,000 will be donated to local environmental nonprofits on behalf of the winner and finalists.

By being a finalist, each individual has secured a $2,500 donation for his or her nonprofit of choice. The finalists are now competing for an additional $7,500 – bringing the total donation on behalf of the winner to $10,000. The winner will be chosen through an online public vote.

The public is being asked to vote now through August 12, 2013 at www.cox7.com/cox-conserves.

Arizona’s 2013 Cox Conserves Heroes finalists (environmental nonprofit of choice):
> Craig Anderson (Nina Mason Pulliam Rio Salado Audubon Center)
> Diana Hadley (Friends of Tucson’s Birthplace – Mission Garden)
> Brad Lancaster (Desert Harvesters and Green Infrastructure Planning)

Arizona’s 2013 Cox Conserves Hero will be announced in late August.

Melinda Gulick was named Arizona’s 2012 Cox Conserves Hero for her long-standing commitment to and passion for Arizona’s open space. By cultivating donors and working through complex financing models for the McDowell Sonoran Preserve, she built important awareness among both corporations and citizens.

Cox Conserves Heroes takes place in multiple Cox markets across the nation, has donated nearly $300,000 to local environmental nonprofits and recognized more than 100 volunteers.

For more information, visit CoxConservesHeroes.com.