Door County Visitor Bureau 2015 Annual Meeting Recap
Media contact: Jon Jarosh, Door County Visitor Bureau, jon@doorcounty.com or 920-818-1133
Oct. 29, 2015. The Door County Visitor Bureau (DCVB) announced the winner of the second annual Certified Tourism Ambassador Employer of the Year award on Wednesday night in front of a crowd of 137 people during the county-wide tourism marketing organization’s 90th annual meeting at the Lodge at Leathem Smith in Sturgeon Bay.
Jack Moneypenny, President/CEO of the DCVB, presented the award to the Door Community Auditorium, represented by executive director Cari Lewis, for their support and dedication to Door County's Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) program over the past six years.
"Their first employee was certified in 2009, the first year of the program,” Moneypenny said of the Door Community Auditorium during the award presentation. “They have consistently certified all new staff members as well, and currently have a 100% certification rate. They’ve also hosted CTA classes and support the program in other ways, including offering area CTA’s specials on concerts and events,” he said.
Employers are a key component to the customer service initiative as they are responsible for sending their employees through the program. To recognize the importance of employers in the CTA program, the DCVB began giving out an employer of the year award at their 2014 annual meeting. Last year’s inaugural winner was Foremost Management Services, a local resort management firm.
Door County's CTA program is a multi-faceted program that serves to increase regional tourism by inspiring front-line employees and volunteers to turn each visitor encounter into a positive experience. The DCVB managed program, which features 6-8 classes per year, demonstrates the county's dedication to promoting Door County as a premier destination with a high level of commitment to customer service for visitors. Since the first class in March of 2009, 756 people have earned the designation of CTA.
The county-wide tourism organization's annual meeting started at 5:30 PM with a social hour followed by the annual meeting at 6:30 PM. The official business of the night took place when new DCVB board members Eric Copiskey, Rory Madsen, Bob Papke, Arleigh Porter and Todd Trimberger, along with second term board members Randy Morrow, Nedd Neddersen and Tom Nikolai were voted in by those members present to the organization's board of directors for terms beginning in January, 2016.
The DCVB also unveiled the cover of their 2016 Official Door County Visitor Guide. The wrap-around cover features a nautical themed image at the Egg Harbor Marina with a woman and her dog getting off their boat next to the iconic “signs” post, which includes multi-colored directional arrows pointing to locations in Door County and throughout the world. The 2016 Official Door County Visitor Guide is currently in production and will be widely available in early January.
The evening ended with the DCVB’s second Spirit of Door County raffle drawing, with Greg and Denise Stillman from Parkwood Lodge winning the grand prize of DCVB services valued at over $3,200.00. Two other businesses also won free DCVB membership for a year. Proceeds from the sale of raffle tickets are used to support the Carole Counard Scholarship Fund, which will award $1,000 scholarships to eligible Door County residents pursuing higher education in the spring of 2016 at the DCVB's annual tourism breakfast.
The Door County Visitor Bureau is the official tourism marketing organization for Door County, whose mission is to generate incremental economic impact for the community by attracting visitors with strategies that ensure sustainable tourism.
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