WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of Energy inducted seven Clean Cities coordinators into the Clean Cities Hall of Fame, a tribute to their outstanding contributions to the reduction of petroleum use in U.S. transportation.

The new inductees include Colleen Crowninshield of Tucson Clean Cities, Kevin Herdler of St. Louis Clean Cities, Melissa Howell of Commonwealth Clean Cities Partnership, Chelsea Jenkins of Virginia Clean Cities, Mindy Mize of Dallas-Fort Worth Clean Cities, Sam Spofforth of Clean Fuels Ohio, and Kellie Walsh of Greater Indiana Clean Cities Coalition.

They join Utah's Robin Erickson and Minnesota's Lisa Thurstin as titans of innovation in transportation. Erickson and Thurstin were both inducted in June 2011, when the Hall of Fame was first unveiled.

Inductees to the Clean Cities Hall of Fame have pioneered the deployment of alternative fuels and advanced vehicles in their own communities and nationally. They have worked with countless vehicle fleets, fuel providers, public officials, industry leaders, and others to reduce petroleum use by millions of gallons per year.