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| March/April/May 2007 |
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- Over two hundred people attended the LCVA's 11th Annual Meeting and 2006 Tourism Awards at Lansdowne Resort Clubhouse on March 30th, 2007.
- The LCVA would like to congratulate the winners of the 2006 Tourism Awards:
Tourism Employee of the Year (Management): Jo Ann Sweeney, Front Desk Manager, Holiday Inn Washington Dulles
Tourism Employee of the Year (Non-Management): Lorita Malipal, Guest Service Agent, Hampton Inn & Suites Leesburg
Volunteer of the Year: Kim Labash, Chair of the Bluemont Fair
Tourism Event of the Year: Christmas in Middleburg
Tourism Promotion/Campaign of the Year: Jazz on the Potomac, Lansdowne Resort
Judy Patterson Tourism Award: Margaret Hubert, Tarara Winery and Peter Dunning, Bluemont Concert Series
LCVA Partner of the Year: June Stanich of June Stanich Photography
LCVA Distinguished Service Award: Organizations recognized included Company Chief Kevin Wright for Hamilton fire units, Chief Joseph Pozzo, and Fire Marshall Keith Brower on behalf of all the fire and rescue personnel and volunteers who fought the Waterford School blaze.
LCVA Humanitarian Award: Embassy Suites Dulles North and Dysautonomia Youth Network of America (DYNA)
- The LCVA would like to thank the following organizations for their sponsorship of the LCVA Annual Meeting and Tourism Awards Luncheon: Lansdowne Resort, Washington Dulles Airport Marriott, Dulles Hotel Connection, National Conference Center, Salamander Hospitality, Embassy Suites Dulles North, George C. Marshall International Center - Dodona Manor, Town of Leesburg, Loudoun County, Reston Limousine & Travel Service, Raspberry Falls Golf & Hunt Club, Washington Airports Task Force, Tarara Winery, New World Tours, Spin City and Holly Heider Chapple Flowers.
- 9 applications were received for the LCVA Scholarship Program. This was a great result for the first year that the LCVA has offered this service, and after reviewing the applications the LCVA was able to award four scholarships of $ 2,000 to Megan Ryan and James Catalonotto from Stone Bridge High School, Ashlee Johnson from Loudoun Valley High School and Derek Frimpong from Heritage High School.
- The LCVA would like to announce the following staff changes: Jennifer Ritter has been promoted to Director of Sales and Wendy Ferrigno has been promoted to Community Sales Manager. Heather Hassell has been hired as Marketing Coordinator and is settling in to her duties. Sadly, Moses Woody left the LCVA in April and Grafton deButts' last day as Industry Relations Manager will be May 31, 2007.
- The LCVA Board Elections were held on March 30, 2007 at the LCVA Annual Meeting and the following officers were elected at the May 23 board meeting: Bill Gibson, Chair, David Gragan, Vice Chair, Carolyn Howell, Secretary and Greg Miller, Treasurer. We would like to thank the outgoing officers for their dedicated service: Carol Welti, Chair and Michelle Lapierre, Secretary.
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| Industry News |
- The inaugural America's Cup of Polo event on May 12, 2007 at Morven Park, which drew a crowd of over 4,000 spectators, was a huge success. Spectators enjoyed a great day of attractions and musical entertainment. Highlights of the day were the polo game between the US and UK teams, competing for the coveted America's Cup (the British won 7 - 3), followed by an amazing concert by legendary rock group Journey, and an extravagant fireworks display. The LCVA acted as the community liaison and local media contact on behalf of Loudoun County, the presenting sponsor for the event. The LCVA would like to extend its thanks on behalf of the County to the following industry partners for their participation in the event: Historic Morven Park, Salamander Hospitality, Holly Heider Chapple Flowers, Breaux Vineyards, Waterford Vineyards and the Virginia Wine Travel and Tourism Office. Plans for next year's America's Cup of Polo on May 10, 2008 are already underway, and it promises to be another spectacular event, with an Italian-US theme, as the US plays Italy at polo.
- The Embassy Suites Dulles North and the Homewood Suites Dulles North have appointed the following new staff members: Bob Duffey, Director of Sales, Sean Grady, Revenue Manager and Shelby Jenkins, Human Resources Manager.
- The 48th Annual Hunt Country Stable Tour in and around Upperville will take place take place this weekend (May 26 and May 27) from 10 a.m. - 5pm each day. The self-drive tour is hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church and all proceeds support the Church's numerous outreach programs. Tickets are valid for two days at a cost of $ 25.00 and can be bought at any stop on the tour. For more tour information please visit www.middleburgonline.com/stabletour.
- Lansdowne Resort's Jazz On The Potomac Concert Series starts on Friday, May 25, 2007 with a performance by Steve Oliver, an international jazz recording artist. The series, now in its second year, has doubled its schedule and will run every Friday night from 5:30 to 10 p.m. through Labor Day weekend, featuring a variety of local and national acts. In addition to the free music, guests are invited to a complete line of food and beverage items, including an Absolut-sponsored martini bar, which will be available for purchase. And, for parents looking for a little time away from the kids, Jazz On The Potomac offers a children's movie from 6 to 9 p.m. during the concert. The cost for the kids' movie is $15 per child, which includes dinner. For more information, call 703-729-4129 or visit the Web site at www.lansdowneresort.com.
If you have any news about your organization you would like to share with the tourism industry in Loudoun County, please contact Chris Geno, Geno@VisitLoudoun.org.
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| Program Updates |
- The LCVA has selected vendors to complete projects as part of the Tourism Destination Strategy. The vendors and projects include:
- OCG Consulting for the destination development project regarding wine country and family friendly attributes, positioning and benchmarking.
- Aedo Tours has been selected to produce multi-media programs
- Northern Virginia Regional Transit for the consulting leadership to develop a transportation RFP to connect accommodations to attractions and provide other transportation solutions for tourism related needs.
- The LCVA hosted ten local, regional and national travel writers and magazine editors for a media familiarization tour which featured culinary tourism in Loudoun County and America's Cup of Polo.
- The LCVA hosted a group of Austrian tour operators as part of a Capital Region USA (CRUSA) familiarization tour sponsored by Austrian Airlines and Hertz Car Rental. The Group visited the Hazy Center, Tuscarora Mill and Tarara Winery with accommodation at the new SpringHill Suites.
- The LCVA hosted a group of German VIP travel agency owners (Lufthansa City Center) as part of a CRUSA familiarization tour sponsored by Lufthansa. The group visited Breaux Vineyards, Magnolias Restaurant and Leesburg's Flower and Garden Festival.
- The LCVA hosted a group of Nordic tour operators as part of a CRUSA/Virginia Tourism Corp. familiarization tour to the area sponsored by IcelandAir. The group visited Breaux Vineyards and had lunch at Lansdowne Resort.
- The LCVA produced a 2008 version of the Fairs and Festivals of Loudoun County, Virginia. This publication includes 10 new events for a total of 45 fairs and festivals to be held in 2008. 10,000 copies of the guide have been produced.
- The LCVA coordinated additional video filming for the enhanced version of the in-room video to allow it to promote the entire destination. Footage was shot at hotels, B&Bs, Lansdowne Resort, Fairfax Hunt Point-to-Point Steeplechase Race and the Leesburg Flower and Garden Show.
- The LCVA attended the Dominion High School Career Fair and the Career Day at Harmony Intermediate School to promote hospitality as a career field and to also promote the new LCVA scholarship opportunities.
- Brand advertising in April: New York Times Great Getaways email promotion. In May: AAA World Magazine, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Philadelphia Enquirer, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Newark Star-Ledger, Times of Trenton/Staten Island Advance, Raleigh News-Observer.
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| Sales Activity Report |
- The LCVA exhibited at the AAA Travel Show in Harrisburg, Pa in March in the Virginia Booth.
- The LCVA exhibited at Destination Showcase, Washington, DC
- The LCVA exhibited at the first ever Quinceanera in this market at the Patriot Center in March.
- The LCVA exhibited at International POW WOW in Anaheim, CA as part of the Capital Region USA (CRUSA) delegation and participated in meetings with tour operators and members of the press from various countries at the Virginia and CRUSA booths.
- The LCVA exhibited at Affordable Meetings in Chicago, IL.
- The LCVA staff was instrumental in the coordination of the program content for Virginia Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus Tourism Summit held in April. This was also an excellent training opportunity for the LCVA team who attended the professional development workshops.
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