Last night we held the 24th Annual Hall of Fame Reception at the MCM Eleganté Hotel. This is an important event for us because it allows us the opportunity to recognize meeting planners and committees that bring reunions, sporting events and conferences to Beaumont.
In 2013, our sales team worked with 162 events and 127 organizations to welcome 80,254 convention delegates! Not to bore you with the details, but we use the Texas Travel Industry Association's formula based on tracked overnight hotel stays to estimate the direct economic impact of Beaumont meetings & we're proud to say it's over $20.9 million! (Geaux team!)
A highlight to the evening was the presentation of our Service Industry Award. The recipient is kept secret and revealed at the close of the reception to a surprised guest of honor. This year we honored Brenda Gray for her outstanding dedication to enhancing tourism, meetings and conventions in Beaumont. Brenda is the Director of Catering at the MCM Eleganté Hotel & Conference Center. A 29-year hospitality industry professional, Gray's clients consistently recognize her for going "above and beyond" to ensure her events exceed expectations.
View the complete list of previous Service Industry Award recipients.
An addition to this year's Hall of Fame, Convention Sales Manager, Rebecca Woodland, announced the winner of the CVB Fit & Fun Meeting Incentive Program. The program targeted meeting planners through a series of promotions with an overall goal of lead generation and additional convention bookings. Eligible planners qualified for a chance to earn cash incentives, on-trend health and wellness extras for Beaumont conventions, and the chance to win a Grand Prize.
Mr. Doug Dittfurth, with Texas Society of the Interpreters for the Deaf (TSID) won the 2013 Fit and Fun Meeting Incentive Campaign Grand Prize, a 5- day cruise departing out of Galveston, Texas! Mr. Dittfurth will also receive a complimentary, instructor-led active ice breaker during the upcoming TSID convention in Beaumont scheduled for March 26-30, 2014.
Along with a fabulous dinner, attendees had their photo made in our photobooth. View photobooth photos on Facebook. Thanks again to all the meeting planners who helped bring business to Beaumont last year. We appreciate your continued support and look forward to another great year in 2014. See more pictures from last night's Hall of Fame Reception on our Facebook page.
