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Home » Marketing Outlook » Past Award Winners

Past Award Winners

The TTRA awards program was developed to encourage and recognize excellence in the field of travel and tourism research and marketing. Entrants are judged on quality, originality, creativity, usefulness, results, and benefits to the travel and tourism industry.

These pages list the winners of the awards presented at the Marketing Outlook Forum.  

TTRA celebrates all of its historical award winners HERE.

  • 2019 MOF Award Winners
  • 2018 MOF Award Winners
  • 2017 MOF Award Winners
  • 2016 MOF Award Winners
  • 2015 MOF Award Winners

2019 Marketing Outlook Forum

October 7 – 9, 2019
Hyatt Regency Bethesda, Washington, DC  USA


John and Joan Markham Tourism Marketing Award

Hailey Post, Masters Student, Parks Recreation and Tourism Department at North Carolina State University

Hailey Post is a first-year master’s student in the Parks Recreation and Tourism Department at North Carolina State University. Through her research, she hopes to identify strategies for improving advocacy efforts among leaders in the tourism industry and stakeholder engagement efforts. She is originally from Greensboro, NC and attended the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for her Bachelors in Sustainable Tourism and Hospitality. Her love for tourism and the outdoors led her down a number of different paths including time working for Walt Disney World, a management position at a high ropes course, and eventually to NC State to pursue her master’s. Hailey is passionate about cultural sustainability and intends to use knowledge and experience gained from her time in the Parks Recreation and Tourism Management department to drive positive change in the tourism industry.

View the Winning Submission.

View the Press Release.


Yesawich Award for Marketing Excellence

Will Hare, Director of Digital Marketing and Analytics, Discover Durham

Will Hare joined the DMO world with a background in data-driven digital marketing agencies. Since he joined the Discover Durham team in June 2017, he has made an immediate impact and proved to be an efficient, strong leader for the organization. Hare’s tireless efforts and sharp mind have positioned him well to effectively lead some of the largest, most dynamic marketing projects in the organization’s 30-year history. His experience in agency marketing has armed him with a keen focus on research and data, one he has been harnessed to inspire Discover Durham to push forward on significant marketing efforts with evidence, analysis and statistics first. In just over two years, Hare has led the company’s rebrand, launched a new website, deployed several integrated advertising campaigns, and helped steer the organization’s audience targets for all marketing channels.

View Discover Durham’s Destination Guide.

View Press Release.


Top Banana Award

NYC & Company

Award given to the destination with the ‘Best Dressed’ Table at the Forum’s destination breakfast.


2018 Marketing Outlook Forum

October 23 – 25, 2018
Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas, Nevada  USA


John and Joan Markham Tourism Marketing Award

Patrick Robbins, Masters Student, Fox School of Business at Temple University

Experienced Department Manager with a demonstrated history of working in the tourism and hospitality industry. Skilled in Customer Service, Sales, Hospitality Management, Microsoft Office, and Airline business processes and tools. Influential operations professional obtaining a Master of Science focused in Tourism and Travel Services Management from Fox School of Business at Temple University.

 


J. Desmond Slattery Professional Marketing Award

Gail Bryant, Director, City of Hannibal / Convention & Visitors Bureau  

Approximately 100 miles northwest of St. Louis is historic Hannibal Missouri. As the boyhood home to author Mark Twain, Hannibal is famously known as the setting for his timeless novels.  Today they are proud to say that they have more parks for citizens than most towns in the Midwest, they have an amazing  trail system that is growing yearly and Hannibal is becoming a thriving haven for artisans.  If you like history, you will love Hannibal! 

This little town of 17,800 provides a home to not only a great destination but an outstanding director for their Convention and Visitors Bureau: Gail Bryant. Gail has led the marketing efforts as a director for the Hannibal CVB since July 2011.  Prior to starting her position in Hannibal, Bryant served as the tourism director in Lebanon Missouri, a small town in the south central part of the state.  She is known to have a knack for development and implementation of marketing plans. And, her strong communications skills have served her well in this small Missouri community.  In addition to her position as Hannibal CVB director, she serves as an active member of the “Promote Missouri Fund” advisory committee for the co-op marketing program for the Missouri Division of Tourism (MDT) having been reappointed in November 2016 to a another three year term.   


Emerging Leaders Rising Star Award

Whitney Knollenberg, Assistant Professor, NC State University

Dr. Whitney Knollenberg’s research focuses on the role of leadership in the forces that shape tourism development, including planning, power, policy, and partnerships. Recently she has examined political leaders in tourism and tourism advocates and their efforts to gain political influence for the industry. Whitney has also studied how leadership and its connections to power and partnerships can initiate and sustain successful rural tourism development. Her continuing research strives to understand how tourism leaders can utilize planning, power, policy, and partnerships to support sustainable tourism development.


Yesawich Award for Marketing Excellence

Lauren Hansen-Flaschen, Director of Research, Visit Philadelphia

Lauren Hansen-Flaschen is Director of Research at VISIT PHILADELPHIA. She drives the organization’s quantitative and qualitative research to guide and evaluate marketing campaigns and new initiatives. Lauren currently serves on U.S. Travel Association’s research taskforce and co-leads TTRA’s Young Professionals group. She also leads a peer professional network of researchers, policy analysts, marketers, and executive leaders from Philadelphia’s economic development agencies. Lauren holds a MPA from University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government and a BA from Boston University.


2017 Marketing Outlook Forum

October 23 – 25, 2017
Hyatt Regency Baltimore Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland  USA


Young Professionals Rising Star Award

Nick Breedlove, Executive Director, Jackson County Tourism Development Authority

In 2015, following his diverse, non-tourism professional history, Nick stepped into his current role as the Executive Director of the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority (JCTDA), a role which he is the first to fulfill. It didn’t take long for Nick’s hard work, leadership, and influence to be felt. Despite its small size (only 41,000 full-time residents) and his relative lack of prior category experience, Nick has exhibited a dedication to industry metrics.

As part of his current role, Nick oversees the advertising and marketing programs, long-range strategy, organizational and financial plans and also publicizes activities, programs and coordinates efforts with the Chambers of Commerce and community groups.

The JCTDA was established to strategically market the county to tourists using occupancy tax funds collected by area lodging facilities.

To read the full press release on Nick’s Accomplishment, please click HERE.


John and Joan Markham Tourism Marketing Award

Juleigh Giberson, Undergraduate Student at Ryerson University

Juleigh Giberson is currently enrolled full-time in the Ted Rogers School of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Ryerson University, where she is also a research assistant.

Among her many outstanding achievements, Juleigh earned a research scholarship in the fall of 2016. She conducted her own study and qualified to present it in Hong Kong at a graduate research conference, where she won second place. She also presented her research earlier this year at the Annual TTRA International Conference in Quebec, where it was well-received by industry professionals.

In the letters recommending her for the John and Joan Markham Tourism Marketing Award, Juleigh was described as “smart, dependable, insightful, and curious,” as well as “a rare kind of undergraduate student who deserves this recognition.”

To read the full press release on Juleigh’s Accomplishment, please click HERE.


J. Desmond Slattery Professional Marketing Award

Heather LeMoine, Marketing Manager, North Dakota

Twelve years ago, Heather LeMoine began her work at North Dakota Tourism as a marketing program manager. Her role has expanded to her current position as Marketing and Research Manager, and Heather rose to the challenge she was given of becoming the state expert on tourism research.

An early adopter of affordable research she has helped drive better-informed marketing decisions with countless partners, media, and stakeholders.

Heather also sits on the board of the CenStates TTRA chapter and speaks at various industry functions.

To read the full press release on Heather’s Accomplishment, please click HERE.


NEW Yesawich Award for Marketing Excellence

Jay Kinghorn, Managing Director, Utah Office of Tourism

Jay Kinghorn used data to greatly improve the office’s winter marketing. He and his team analyzed data to identify a leading key performance indicator to optimize campaign performance while the campaign was still in market, as well as comprehensively measure digital ad effectiveness based on ad-exposed hotel and flight bookings and arrivals in Utah. Jay and his team developed a key message that they delivered to their target audience under-budget.

Under Jay’s leadership, the campaign was built around a full arsenal of digital tactics, carefully matched to traveler profiles, awareness levels, and behavioral characteristics, then optimized carefully around new key performance indicators and analytical tools to create the most rigorously measured campaign the Utah Office of Tourism has ever executed. The objectives were achieved by personalizing the messaging to the different affinity groups and optimizing the days and times that the message was delivered.

The results of the campaign Jay led exceeded expectations.

To read the full press release on Jay’s Accomplishment, please click HERE.


2016 Marketing Outlook Forum

October 24 – 26, 2016
Weston Beach Resort and Spa, Fort Lauderdale, Florida  USA


Young Professionals Rising Star Award

Andria Godfrey, Director of Tourism Research, Georgia Department of Economic Development

Andria Godfrey is the Director of Tourism Research for the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), where she is responsible for driving the agency’s research programs that provide insights to inform GDEcD’s marketing and strategic program development efforts. Prior to joining GDEcD, Ms. Godfrey served as the Research Coordinator for Texas Tourism.

She currently serves as Vice President for the Southeastern Travel and Tourism Research Association and Chair Woman for Travel South USA’s International Research Committee.

Andria holds both a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and a Master of Science from Texas A&M University.


John and Joan Markham Tourism Marketing Award

Kari Roberg, Research Assistant, Arizona State University’s Center for Sustainable Tourism

A second year master’s student in the School of Community Resources and Development at Arizona State University, Kari holds a bachelor of science degree in recreation, sport, and tourism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
 
She has over ten years of experience in destination marketing, including managing visitor services, research, and social media. Her tourism industry experience also includes front desk management and tour services at a concessionaire of the National Park Service. Kari’s research interests currently include research methods, consumer behavior, and sustainable tourism. She is concerned with maintaining the integrity of the environment and cultures, while preserving quality travel experiences and the economic impact of tourism.
 
She is currently a research assistant at Arizona State University’s Center for Sustainable Tourism.

J. Desmond Slattery Professional Marketing Award

Jarrod Lyman, Communications Specialist, Clackamas County Tourism and Cultural Affairs

Jarrod has been working with DMOs for 12 years. In that time, he’s had roles in his home town in Arizona, in Yosemite, California, and now his goal destination of Oregon’s Mt. Hood Territory. He fell in love with this region when he first visited on a work trip in 2005 and finally was able to call it home in 2013. Since then, he’s helped Mt. Hood Territory grow its social media following several fold, kept engagement rates several times higher than average, and crafted award-winning social media campaigns.

When he’s not working, he’s spending time with his wife of 16 years Cindy, 12-year-old daughter Kaylee, and almost-4-year-son Collin.


2015 Marketing Outlook Forum

October 26 – 28, 2015
Loews Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  USA


Young Professionals Rising Star Award

Leah Chandler, Chief Marketing Officer
Branson Convention and Visitors Bureau

Meet Leah


John and Joan Markham Tourism Marketing Award

Cassandra Ball, Graduate Extern: Marketing and Recruitment Temple University, School of Tourism and Hospitality Management

Meet Cassandra


J. Desmond Slattery Professional Marketing Award

Claudia Vecchio, Director Nevada Department of Tourism and Cultural Affairs

Meet Claudia


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