The Ponca City Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau won a coveted Redbud Award Tuesday night at the Redbud Awards Gala for the Ponca City Visitors Guide.
The Oklahoma Travel Industry Association hosted the gala at the Oklahoma History Center as part of the 2016 Oklahoma Conference on Tourism.
Open to all Oklahoma tourism entities, the Redbud Awards represent the highest honor given in the Oklahoma tourism industry.
Emceed by Lt. Governor Todd Lamb and “Discover Oklahoma” host Jennifer Reynolds, 28 awards were given in 16 categories. The awards recognize Oklahoma's top tourism attractions, events, programs and organizations for outstanding efforts to serve and promote Oklahoma’s tourism industry.
Competition entries must have been produced, published, broadcast or held between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2015. All entries were evaluated by a slate of tourism professionals on specific criteria, including customer service and experience, marketing effectiveness, media relations, variety of audiences reached, value, and overall creativity.
The winners include:
Outstanding Agritourism Attraction
Redbud: P Bar Farms
Merit: Girourd Vines Winery
Best Social Media Campaign
Redbud: Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism
Redbud: Visit Stillwater
Merit: Sam Noble Museum
Best Brochure or Publication - Tri-fold or single sheet
Redbud: Duncan Convention & Visitors Bureau - Duncan Calendar.com
Merit: Sapulpa Main Street and Tour Sapulpa - Historic Downtown Sapulpa Walking Tour
Best Brochure or Publication - 10 pages or less
Redbud: Ponca City Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Bureau - Ponca City Visitors Guide
Merit: Oklahoma Wondertorium - WONDERPRO
Best Brochure or Publication - 11 pages or more
Redbud: Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum - 20th Anniversary
Merit: Lake Texoma Association - 2015 Guide to Lake Texoma
Best Overall Marketing Campaign
Redbud: Cherokee Nation Cultural Tourism
Merit: Visit Norman
Best Website
Redbud: Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau - visitokc.com
Redbud: Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum - okcnm.org
Best Partnership
Redbud: Chickasaw Nation - Adventure Road
Merit: Greater Muskogee Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism and Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame
Outstanding Media Coverage - Television & Online
Redbud: RSU Public Television - Living Grand on Grand Lake
Outstanding Media Coverage - Newspaper & Magazine
Redbud: The Artesian Hotel, Casino and Spa
Merit: Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau
Outstanding Attraction
Redbud: Oklahoma WONDERtorium
Merit: Chisholm Trail Heritage Center
Outstanding New Attraction
Redbud: Science Museum of Oklahoma - CurioCity
Outstanding Temporary Exhibit
Redbud: Philbrook Museum - In Living Color: Andy Warhol Exhibit
Merit: Cherokee Heritage Center - The 2015 Miss Cherokee Exhibit
Outstanding Event
Redbud: Commanche County Memorial Hospital - Spirit of Survival
Merit: Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce - National Indian Taco Championship
Outstanding New Event
Redbud: Remington Park "Remington Bark"
Merit: Chishom Trail Heritage Center - Campfire, Cattle & Cowboys Gathering
Outstanding Lodging Property
Redbud: Chickasaw Nation / Artesian Hotel, Casino, and Spa
Merit: POSToak Lodge & Retreat
Tourism Organization of the Year
Redbud: Oklahoma City Convention & Visitors Bureau
In addition to the Redbud Awards the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Kin Thompson of Northeastern State University. The award is presented annually by AAA Oklahoma and is designed to recognize a tourism professional who has spent decades working in and improving Oklahoma’s travel industry.
“Kin’s passion to serve and make the community and state better has been evidenced in his leadership and facilitation of professional development,” said Debra Bailey, President & CEO of the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association. “Dozens of organizations and people have been greatly benefited by his years of service, and we are proud to name him as recipient of the 2016 AAA Oklahoma Lifetime Achievement Award."
