We talk often in this space about collaboration and the many partnerships that exist between The Clean Air Campaign and the state of Georgia. Our efforts to promote less traffic and cleaner air are done in concert with agencies like the Georgia Department of Transportation and the Georgia Environmental Protection Division, Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.

And at times, the circle of collaboration gets wider, bringing more groups together in order to help serve the public. This was the case earlier this year, when the state legislature passed HB160, known as the “SuperSpeeder Law.” The law is designed to get tough on high-risk drivers who endanger other motorists and ignore warnings to slow down. Fees collected under the “SuperSpeeder Law,” which goes into effect January 1, 2010, will help fund Georgia’s trauma care hospital system where, according to the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, some sixty-percent of all trauma care admissions are crash-related. Read more about the Super Speeder Law and the threshold for speeding fines here.

Of course, the lead message from the Governor's Office of Highway Safety that goes with the “SuperSpeeder Law” is the financial “triple whammy” of a citation, an additional fee and the threat of losing driving privileges for the lead-footed.

But there is also an environmental case we should think about, and a productivity case for slowing down. It is well documented that driving a car at speeds above 70 and 80mph and aggressively accelerating wastes fuel and burns fuel more rapidly, creating higher concentrations of air pollution. It is also clear that traffic accidents stemming from aggressive driving and speeding can wreak havoc on the commute to and from work, especially when these accidents occur during rush hour. Commuters can’t afford to speed … and the state can’t afford to deal with more smog and gridlock, let alone accident victims.

So, take note of the “SuperSpeeder Law” that goes into effect January 1. If your safety and the safety of others on the road isn’t enough motivation to ease off the gas pedal, consider the financial and environmental consequences of driving too fast.

It goes without saying that The Clean Air Campaign’s staff works hard to serve Georgia employers, commuters and schools. Like any job, the satisfaction you get out of it is directly related to the effort you put into it. And in many ways for our team, the motivation for less traffic and cleaner air comes from the fun activities that are made more enjoyable when we can have clearer skies under which to play.

Mark Poole, a Commuter Services Coordinator with just over two years of service at The Clean Air Campaign, gets to enjoy the respiratory fruits of his labor out on the fields almost every weekend with his Ultimate Frisbee team, Chain Lightning. This fall, Mark’s team won the national title at the 2009 Ultimate Players’ Association Championships. We caught up with Mark to learn more about his exploits on the field and why he’s motivated to work for less traffic and cleaner air.

Mark Poole proudly presents the national championship trophy his team, Chain Lightning, won at the 2009 Ultimate Players’ Association Championship tournament.

Q: How did you become interested in Ultimate Frisbee?

A: I got turned on to it in college after hearing about it from one of my professors, who played on a travel team. I’ve been playing for about five years and never imagined I’d get a chance to compete at a championship level. I just love playing the game and where it has taken me.

Q: How do you play Ultimate Frisbee?

A: We play seven on seven on a field with two end zones. The object is to score by passing the disc into the end zone and there are offensive and defensive teams, which switch back and forth based on possession. The game is non-contact and it’s self-officiated. Depending on the game setup and tournament rules, the first team to score 15 points wins.

Q: What’s the pace of the game and the overall vibe?

A: I play in a competitive men’s league, but there are also recreational leagues and co-ed leagues all over the world. We always strive to have a friendly competition. The fact that games are self-officiated means we are committed to good sportsmanship. It’s not uncommon to share a beer with our competition after a game.

Q: As an outdoor sport, what do you enjoy about Ultimate Frisbee?

A: Being active and playing outside is very important to me. The season runs from May to November. Coincidentally, that’s almost in line with Smog Season in Georgia. So of course I want to have clean air to breathe in. It’s a great experience to be able to run around under blue skies and soak in the sunshine. But it can also be fulfilling to play in other weather conditions because it adds variety.

Q: How much work goes into competing on an Ultimate Frisbee squad?

A: I run and train at the track every week. My team practices almost every weekend for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday. We put a lot of work into our game. We’ve got 26 guys on our team. Some are serious. Some are laid back. We always have fun, but we know how to get focused and win.

Q: Besides air, what goes into the physics of throwing a Frisbee?

A: Spin keeps a Frisbee aloft. The more spin, the farther, flatter and faster the disc will travel. It takes a good snap of the wrist to get spin. And there are different angles you need to choose when you’re passing to teammates across the field.

Q: Where has Chain Lightning competed?

A: It’s amazing where we’ve traveled to play against other teams in tournaments around the country. We’ve been to Seattle, Santa Cruz, Washington D.C., Baton Rouge, Austin, Florida and all over the Southeast.

Q: And most recently you were in Sarasota, FL competing at the nationals. What was that like?

A: We represented the Southeast region at the national championships, which is a four-day tournament. We went in as the #2 seed and faced off against the #1 seed from San Francisco in the finals. The weather was uncharacteristically hot for Florida in late-October and we were thoroughly tired from all the games leading up to the finals. But we were playing great defense the whole tournament and knew we could stand up to them with aggressive defensive play. Playing in a championship game was such an adrenaline rush. We were amped up to have made it so far. Chain Lightning is the first champion in history to come out of the Southeast.

Q: Congrats on taking home the trophy. What’s the next big quest for Chain Lightning?

A: We’ll compete in July 2010 at the World Ultimate Club Championships in Prague, Czech Republic.

Q: Where can Georgians interested in learning about Ultimate Frisbee learn more?

A: Check out the Ultimate Players Association to learn more about the sport and visit Atlanta Flying Disc Club to get league info.

Congrats to Mark and his team for their big win. What do you do you like to do outdoors – now or in any season – that gets you motivated to protect the air we breathe?

Thirty percent of your employees don’t show up for work one day. What would you do? Would you close for business? Try to make it with a skeleton staff? And how would these choices impact your bottom line? Now imagine that those same employees – or more – were unable to get to work for three days or longer.

It’s a scenario that most Georgia business owners don’t think will happen to them, and, hopefully, it won’t. But recent history indicates that we need to prepare. Most of us never imagined that North Georgia roads would look like rivers last September as a 500-year flood swept the state. But that’s exactly what happened.

Georgia is also susceptible to tornadoes, as we saw in March 2008 when one spiraled through downtown Atlanta and caused damage in 15 counties across the state. Ice storms can literally freeze northern portions of state, and Dr. Patrick O’Neal, chief of the Georgia Department of Community Health’s Emergency Preparedness and Response Division, expects one third of Georgians to contract H1N1 flu. My goal is not to cause panic, but to show businesses the importance of preparing for, weather-related emergencies, pandemic, and other unforeseen disasters today.

I believe many business owners approach continuity planning with the best of intentions. But it can fall to the bottom of the list among payroll, sales and day-to-day operations. Ready Georgia, the emergency preparedness campaign from the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, also supported by the Georgia Department of Community Health Division of Public Health, can help. It offers a Ready Your Business guide to assist Georgia companies of any size with disaster planning. The guide can help planners identify key decision makers during a disaster, assess which disasters your organization is most vulnerable to, and determine essential business functions that must be maintained. It also helps organize important communication information, such as customer phone numbers, vendor email addresses and insurance provider contact information, in one location.

Working in conjunction with organizations like The Clean Air Campaign, can help businesses develop a comprehensive crisis plan to see them through a variety of situations. The Clean Air Campaign offers no-cost assistance to start or formalize a worksite telework program and can also help you apply for tax credits that cover the cost.

Business continuity plans that include telework programs can help protect our state’s economy, your business and the future of your employees. It’s time to move emergency preparedness to the top of the list, and get your business Ready.

Charley English is the director of the Georgia Emergency Management Agency and the Office of Homeland Security. He oversees all state governmental actions designed to ensure mitigation and preparedness, appropriate response and timely recovery from natural and man-made hazards which may impact the state of Georgia.