• LCVA 12th Annual Meeting and 2007 Tourism Awards Re-cap
  Thank you again to everyone who attended the LCVA's 12th Annual Meeting and 2007 Tourism Awards Luncheon on Tuesday, March 25, 2008 in the brand new ballroom at West Belmont Place at The National Conference Center. The LCVA's Annual Meeting enjoyed record attendance and was a great event for networking and recognition within Loudoun's tourism industry. The LCVA would like to again congratulate and thank the following tourism award winners:
  Tourism Employee of the Year:
  Gerry Waldron, Bartender, Tuscarora Mill Restaurant (Front-Line)
  Doug Smith, Historical Interpreter, Historic Morven Park and
  Beth Reed, Manager, South Street Under (Management)
  Tourism Promotion/Campaign of the Year:
  Harry Potter Party, Books & Crannies
  Tourism Volunteer of the Year:
  Punkin Lee, Middleburg Tourism Advocate
  Tourism Event of the Year:
  Waterford Homes Tour & Crafts Exhibit and Loudoun Border Guards Fife & Drum Corps National Muster
  Judy Patterson Award:
  Karen Jones
  The LCVA's voting members also elected the LCVA Board of Directors for the next three-year term. Click here to see the LCVA Board members for FY 09.
  
  The LCVA Tourism Awards program is made possible by program sponsors. The LCVA would like to thank the generous sponsors who made this year's event such a resounding success: Loudoun County; Platinum Sponsor: The National Conference Center; Patron Sponsors: Dulles Hotel Connection, Town of Leesburg, and Salamander Hospitality; Table Sponsors: Lansdowne Resort, Washington Dulles Airport Marriott, Middleburg Business and Professional Association/Town of Middleburg, Washington Airports Task Force, Historic Morven Park, INOVA Loudoun Hospital, Tuscarora Mill and Country Inn & Suites Dulles/Fairbrook Hotels.
  
  
• Reviews Wanted on VisitLoudoun.org
  Calling all locals! The LCVA has implemented user reviews on VisitLoudoun.org to promote authentic stories and gain more credibility with visitors. After you dine, shop, tour, taste, and buy in Loudoun County and our towns, please take the time to write about your experience on the site. Visitors love to hear what the locals think, so add your two cents today. We encourage you to send emails to all your colleagues, families, friends, and neighbors to get them to add their reviews, too. It's easy, fun, and helps our tourism businesses. For more information on user reviews, click here. To add a review, click here.
  
   
• Wine Packages, Promotions, and Deals Wanted
  October 2008 marks the 20th anniversary of Virginia Wine Month and the Virginia Tourism Corporation needs your help to celebrate. Hotels, wineries, B&Bs, restaurants, and attractions are encouraged to develop packages, promotions, and deals for the month of October and post them on Virginia.org to be included in their marketing efforts. The theme is "Find the One You Love," so feel free to incorporate it into titles and descriptions. Log-in to the administration tool on Virginia.org to add your listings.
  
   
• Multi-media Program Launched
  The LCVA hosted a free premiere event for the tourism industry and Loudoun residents at Leesburg's Tally Ho Theatre on May 21, 2008 to launch the new multi-media program. The event showcased the brand new series of thirty-six short videos that highlight Loudoun County's wineries, heritage sites, destination restaurants, historic towns and villages, events, and more. The LCVA has begun posting the new tourism videos on the video distribution websites listed below. Check them out, email them to a friend, and add your comments, too. All of the videos are posted to the newly re-designed VisitLoudoun.org, which will launch in the next couple of weeks!
  YouTube
  Yahoo Video
  Daily Motion
  Facebook
  My Space
  Triporia
  

• New Shopping & Dining Guide: July 31 Deadline
  The deadline to update/edit or add your businesses listing in the new edition of the Loudoun Shopping & Dining Guide is July 31, 2008. Click here for more information. CORRECTION: If you received the postcard about updating your current listing, your first name may be listed incorrectly. Please pardon the mistake and rest assured your first name is correctly matched to your last in our database.
  
   
• Add Your Events on VisitLoudoun.org
  Did you know the events section of VisitLoudoun.org is the most popular section on our consumer website? Don't miss your opportunity to have your event noticed. Click here to upload your events.
  
   
• Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce & Loudoun Cares Welcomes Home the Returning Troops in Leesburg
  The LCVA would to thank the following industry partners who very generously donated items to help welcome the troops home and thank them for their service: B.F. Saul Co. Hotel Division, PMHS Hospitality (Embassy Suites and Homewood Suites), Breaux Vineyards, Great Country Farms, and Lovettsville Bed & Breakfast. We do not have the list of the many other businesses that donated items directly to the Chamber offices, but would also like to thank them.
  
   
• Save the Date! Charity Auction & Golf Classic
  The LCVA Foundation will host its first Charity Auction & Golf Classic fundraiser on October 15, 2008 from 8:30am to 6:00pm at Raspberry Falls Golf & Hunt Club in Leesburg. The golf tournament and auction will raise funds to conduct research, perform education and training, and provide scholarships to graduating seniors of Loudoun County to pursue further education in the fields of hospitality and tourism. The day promises something for everyone; the golf classic, a golf clinic, both a silent and live auction, and a dinner to cap off the day. Everyone is welcome to register for all or a portion of the day's activities to help raise funds and support the mission and goals of the Foundation. Sponsorships for the event are available at various levels. For more information on participation and sponsorship contact Wendy Ferrigno at 703-771-2170 ext. 24 or visit www.LCVAFoundation.org.
   

• The Hyatt Place Sterling/Dulles Airport-North announced that Fabricio Jiron has been hired as the new director of sales for the hotel. He came from the Capital Hotels & Suites in Washington, DC where worked for the past ten years. Fabricio helped to open the St. Gregory Hotel and held both their director of operations and then director of sales positions.
  
  
• Carol Smith (formerly Carol Petronio) has joined The National Conference Center as national sales manager. Carol was most recently the director of sales & marketing at the Stonewall Jackson Hotel and Conference Center in Staunton, Virginia. She was also on the pre-opening team at Lansdowne Resort, where she worked for eleven years. Carol will be representing the NCC to the national corporate and the Virginia state association market.
  
   
• Lansdowne Resort recently announced the appointment of Marjorie Lane as marketing director for the resort. Ms. Lane brings over twenty-five years of hospitality marketing experience to Lansdowne, and has until recently worked with Bedford Springs Resort of Bedford, Pennsylvania, also managed by Benchmark International.
  
   
• Simon Smith has joined the Goodstone Inn and Estate in Middleburg as the new general manager. Simon was previously the director of lodging and the restaurant manager at the signature Blackberry Farm, the internationally renowned Relais & Chateaux property in Walland, Tennessee.
  
   
• The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership announced the addition of Lyle Werner, former executive director of The Good Shepherd Alliance in Leesburg, to its executive team. Werner will serve as the JTHG Partnership's director of development, a newly created position dedicated to raising funds for the Journey's educational and heritage tourism programs.
  
   
• Briar Patch Bed & Breakfast in Middleburg has hired Jennifer Fries, a graduate of Virginia Tech's hospitality program, as the assistant manager with a focus on developing their mid-week business, primarily for meetings and packages for seniors.
  
   
• Aimee Summers has been hired as collections manager at Historic Morven Park. She will be working with Tracy Gillespie, director of historical operations, and staff to prepare the mansion for re-opening in the spring of 2009 after an extensive eight-year preservation project. A series of "soft openings" are being planned throughout 2009, the first to coincide with Virginia's Historic Garden Week, and beginning with the main rooms on the first floor of the house.
  
   
• A ground breaking ceremony was held recently for a new ninety-one-suite Homewood Suites by Hilton at 115 Fort Evans Road, NE, Leesburg. Homewood Suites by Hilton is an international brand of upscale, all-suite, residential-style hotels targeting extended-stay travelers. Construction is scheduled to last approximately twelve months, with an opening planned for the first quarter of 2009. The hotel is owned and operated by Leesburg Extended Suites LLC of Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Jackie Gosses will be the General Manager.
  
   
• 172 visitors attended the 3rd annual Princess for a Day Ice Cream Social on Saturday, June 28th at the Loudoun Heritage Farm Museum in Sterling.
  
   
• Two Broads and a Brit is a tea catering business offering afternoon teas delivered to your home. Each tea is personally customized. For more information contact 540-554-8841, 540-554-2748, or email TwoBroadsandaBritafternoonteas@yahoo.com.
  
   
• Andrea Falzarano's new venture, Good Taste! Tours, offers culinary day trips and weekend packages for foodies. Check out her new website at GoodTasteTours.com.
  
   
• Lansdowne Resort is once again hosting the popular Jazz on the Potomac, a free outdoor concert series on Friday evenings through Labor Day weekend, August 29, 2008.
  
   
• Back by popular demand...brewery tours! Old Dominion Brewery is holding an Open House the first Wednesday of every month. Tastings will start at 6pm and will be followed by a tour.
  
   
• Want to advertise employment opportunities to the industry? You can do so on the LCVA website under Industry Jobs. Email Greg Harp or call him at 703-771-2170 ext. 14 for more information.
   

Please email your industry news to Chris Geno, LCVA Director of Industry & Media Relations, by August 15, 2008 for inclusion in the August Tourism Industry Compass.