Southeast Tourism Society Honors Huntsville Botanical Garden

ATLANTA, Ga.—A botanical garden that draws visitors with its top-notch events, as well as it’s beautiful foliage, a Congressman who “gets tourism” and an organization that promotes Appalachian culture to strengthen a 25-county region’s economy are among the winners of Shining Example Awards from the Southeast Tourism Society (STS). STS promotes travel in 11 Southeastern states.

“Shining Example Awards highlight some of the best work in travel and tourism, and winners truly set examples that others in the industry can follow,” said STS chairman Mitch Bowman. “Showcasing great work is important because tourism is the largest, second-largest or third-largest industry in every Southeastern state.”

Shining Example Awards, presented since 1985, are in 13 categories.

Travel Attraction of the Year—Huntsville Botanical Garden in Huntsville, Ala. This botanical garden not only has 112 acres of flowering shrubs, trees and wildflowers for visitors to admire, but also hosts several yearly events targeted to families and visitors of all ages. Focusing on creative and interactive events has boosted visitation 25% this year.

Governmental Tourism Leadership Award (state or federal)—U.S. Rep. Henry Brown from South Carolina. Brown, who represents the 1st District of South Carolina, has supported tourism efforts with his support of funding for the Interstate 73 corridor project. The proposed I-73 would not only provide better transportation for visitors going to the Myrtle Beach area, but would also provide an effective hurricane evacuation route.

Governmental Tourism Leadership Award (city or county) – Mayor Randy Roach, Lake Charles, Louisiana. Mayor Roach was recognized for supporting tourism in Lake Charles through his efforts at revitalizing the downtown area, assisting in bringing conventions to the city, and helping to plan for a new lakefront hotel.

Private Sector Organization of the Year (state or regional)—AdvantageWest, in N.C. This organization is charged with promoting a 25-county region in North Carolina that has recently been named the Blue Ridge National Heritage area by the U.S. Congress. This designation can bring the region up to $10 million in federal matching funds over the next ten years. AdvantageWest heads up the efforts to use these funds to promote the area’s southern Appalachian crafts, music, folkways, and culture.

Public Sector Organization of the Year (state or region)—Alabama Bureau of Tourism & Travel. Alabama’s state tourism office was recognized for its campaign that featured 2003 as the “Year of Alabama Gardens.” This targeted campaign not only boosted visitation to the state’s public gardens, but also increased traffic to hotels and other attractions across the state by 3% over the same period in 2003.

Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Year ($1 million or more budget)—Montgomery, Ala. Convention & Visitors Bureau. This city has embraced its rich heritage as the backdrop for the Civil Rights movement with the adoption of a new slogan – “Montgomery: Courageous. Visionary. Rebellious.” The city has renewed its focus on its historic attractions and events, including the 50th anniversary of the Bus Boycott in Montgomery, which will be celebrated next year.

Convention and Visitors Bureau of the Year (less than $1 million budget)— Hattiesburg, Miss. Convention & Visitors Bureau. A clever ad campaign, which personifies this genteel city, has been effective in driving more tourism to the area. Quotes from “Hattie,” an invisible character described as motherly, wise and embracing, appear in ads promoting the city as a destination for families, conventioneers, and outdoorsmen.

Festival of the Year (attendance of 100,000 or more)—Macon, Ga. International Cherry Blossom Festival. This festival showcases magnificent Yoshino cherry trees, which bloom every March in Macon, Georgia. The festival features over 500 events over a ten-day period and draws 700,000 attendees from around the world.

Festival of the Year (attendance less than 100,000)—A Mountain Quiltfest in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. This quilt show showcases over 200 pieces of artwork from miniature quilts to large wall hangings to bed quilts. It also includes classes taught by the country’s most sought-after quilt instructors. The event draws over 17,000 people to the Pigeon Forge area every March.

Tourism Awareness—Sarasota, Fla. Convention and Visitors Bureau. This award is for the best program to promote National Tourism Week. The Sarasota CVB saw National Tourism Week as an opportunity to communicate to the citizens of Sarasota the value of tourism in their community. Each Sarasota household saves $360 in annual property taxes due to tourist spending and visitors generate $856 million annually to the local economy in direct spending. This message was communicated via print and TV ads and at a special community-wide breakfast where local resident and sports personality Dick Vitale spoke and was awarded the “Voice of Sarasota Award.”

Visual Excellence in Photography—South Carolina Parks, Recreation & Tourism. Judges particularly applauded this state’s focus on golf advertising. The most famous golf courses in the state were photographed and featured in ads that sought to place South Carolina as the #1 golf destination in consumers’ minds.

Visual Excellence in Video—“Tales & Trails: Discover America’s Frontier” produced by Evergrow. This interactive CD offers a collection of eight short videos about crafts, historic sites, music, outdoor adventure and other cultural experiences of an eight-county region in Northeast Tennessee.

Travel Writer of the Year – Mark G. Stith, associate travel editor, Southern Living Magazine. Mr. Stith writes and edits travel articles, many focusing on the Southeast, for Southern Living, Costal Living and Progressive Farmer. His article entitled, “Bloom Town: Spring Sparkles During Wilmington, North Carolina’s Azalea Festival” was chosen for the cover of the April 2004 issue of Southern Living.

A complement to the Shining Example Awards is presentation of the Dorothy Hardman Award that recognizes an STS member’s dedication to STS. The 2004 recipient is H.B. “Bud” Flora, retired vice president of travel from Southern Living. Flora chaired the STS board in 1998 through 1999 and currently co-chairs the Society’s strategic planning committee.

Southeast Tourism Society board chair Mitch Bowman recognized Karen Lingo, senior writer/special project with Southern Living with the Chairman of the Board Award for outstanding service to the Society. Lingo serves as chair of the STS Marketing College Board of Trustees.

The 2004 Shining Example Awards program was part of the 21st annual meeting of STS. It was at the Atlanta Sheraton Hotel in Atlanta, Ga.

Founded in 1983, the Southeast Tourism Society is dedicated to the promotion and development of tourism to its member states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The membership includes state travel offices, attractions, hotels, motels, resorts, convention & visitors bureaus, airlines, bus companies, car rental agencies, newspapers, magazines and other travel-related organizations as well as corporate partners American Express, Amtrak, Delta Air Lines, Morrison Printing Company, Smith Advertising, Southern Living Magazine, StateNets Radio Networks, TRIPSouth and USDM.net.