Alabama State Tourism Award Winners Announced

Thirteen state tourism industry awards will be presented Monday night at the Alabama Governor’s Conference on Tourism being held Aug. 2nd-4th.

The event will be held at the Renaissance Battle House Hotel in Mobile. Below is a brief explanation of the thirteen awards:

• The new GulfQuest National Maritime Museum in Mobile will be named as the 2016 Attraction of the Year.  This will be the first museum dedicated to the Gulf Coast’s rich maritime traditions and only the third interactive maritime museum in the world when it opens in September.
• Boomdays Heritage Celebration in Fort Payne will be acknowledged as the Event of the Year. Boomdays started ten years ago and has grown into a leading music, arts and heritage event.
• Gulf Shores-Orange Beach Tourism has had several record setting years in marketing the state’s top tourism destination and will be named the Tourism Organization of the Year.
• Heiko Einfeld will receive the Tourism Executive of the Year award for his longstanding leadership role in the state’s tourism industry and his continued commitment to excellence as executive director of the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce.
• Award-winning journalist and humorist Kelly Kazek from Madison will receive the Media Award for her weekly Odd Travels feature for AL.com.
• The Coastal Alabama Partnership will accept the Tourism Partnership Award for its continuing work in bringing regional leaders together to advocate for the coastal area’s top priorities.
• Selma Mayor George P. Evans will be presented with the Government Advocate award for his leadership in the 50^th anniversary of the Selma to Montgomery March.
• JoJo Terry of the Alabama Tourism Department will receive the Employee of the Year award for her work as digital marketing director and regional director for the Gulf Coast area.
• Carmen Bishop with the Dothan Area Convention and Visitors Bureau will receive the Rising Star Award for her work in re-branding and promoting the Dothan area.
• The Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau’s #iHeartHsv campaign will be presented with the Alabama Themed Campaign award for its success in using social media to raise destination awareness.
• The Monroeville Chamber of Commerce will receive the Director’s Award for its work in organizing the Monroeville launch of Harper Lee’s book “Go Set A Watchman.”
• Dr. Lawrence J. Pijeaux, Jr. of Birmingham will be inducted into the Alabama Tourism Hall of Fame.  Dr. Pijeaux retired in May after serving for 20 years as the President and CEO of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
• The Governor’s Tourism Award will be presented to the Marshall County Convention and Visitors Bureau’s “Majestic 3” marketing campaign. “Majestic 3” highlights the best assets of the three state parks located in the county: Lake Guntersville, Cathedral Caverns and Bucks Pocket State Park.

State Tourism Director Lee Sentell said,

More than 225 tourism professionals from across the state will be attending this three day educational conference. This is our opportunity to bring in experts to present the latest trends in tourism marketing. Tourism is an $11.8 billion industry in Alabama and has shown an increase of more than 79% over the last 12 years.

The tourism conference will also feature industry workshops and speakers. Coastal Alabama Partnership CEO Wiley Blankenship and Carol Hunter with the Downtown Mobile Alliance will be keynote speakers.