Annual awards recognize top in tourism, hospitality
Submissions are currently being requested for the 2014 P.R.I.D.E. Awards, a local recognition spotlighting excellence in tourism and hospitality industry professionals in Shreveport-Bossier City.
P.R.I.D.E. stands for “Proud Residents Involved in Developing Our Economy,” and this year, the Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourist Bureau hopes to discover and honor more diamonds in the industry.
In conjunction with the National Travel and Tourism Week the first week of May, the annual awards night will be held at 6:30 p.m. May 15 at the Horseshoe Casino Riverdome in Bossier City.
More than 30 awards were given at the 2013 P.R.I.D.E. night event, and this year is expected to see at least 20. Other awards last year went to Outstanding Event of the Year – The World Series of Poker Circuit Event and Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit (tie); Outstanding Southern Hospitality Ambassador – Jackie Allen of Horseshoe Casino and Hotel; Outstanding Tourism and Hospitality Employee of the Year -- Andrea Bales, of Horseshoe Casino and Hotel; and Outstanding Venue Operations -- Heather Sexton, of DiamondJacks Casino and Resort.
Also awarded annually is the P.R.I.D.E Master Award, the region’s highest honor among tourism and hospitality professionals. Last year in 2013, the award was given to Kip Holloway, the former executive director of the Red River Arts Festival.
Kelly Wells, vice president of tourism and sports, SBCTB and Shreveport- Bossier Sports Commission, believes the P.R.I.D.E. awards are of great benefit to Shreveport-Bossier City.
“The P.R.I.D.E. awards has been the most prestigious event annually to recognize not only those tourism businesses and employees that make Shreveport-Bossier City what it is to our visitors, but the awards also recognize some of those groups and individuals that bring these tourism events to life,” Wells said. “It’s important to recognize these employees, businesses and individuals who have personally or collectively helped grow the tourism product in our area at an extremely high level of service or product. Although many of these businesses recognize their employees at the property level, the P.R.I.D.E. awards allow this recognition at a much larger level in front of their peers on an annual basis.”
Jared Troutman, general manager of Splash Kingdom, won the 2013 P.R.I.D.E. award for Outstanding Attractions Professional of the Year. “The P.R.I.D.E. award was important to me because it showed the rest of our company that the community is paying attention to Splash Kingdom’s efforts,” Troutman said. “A lot of people make this water park possible, and it was a great boost to our morale as we moved into our summer season.”
Troutman believes the award helped increase business, as well. “Splash Kingdom has owned the park for only five years, and we have been steadily working to integrate ourselves into the hospitality and tourism industries of the city,” Troutman said. “This award represents a milestone in these efforts, and it has inspired to partner more, network more and offer more unique opportunities to anyone that would like to do something with Splash Kingdom.”
Wells said the tourism industry in Shreveport-Bossier City is one of the largest economic engines for the area.
“The tourism industry is broad, and its make up includes area casinos, hotels, retail, attractions, transportation including airlines, taxis, charter companies, city venues and private venues and restaurants, which provided the services and product to accommodate sporting events, conventions, leisure travel, film and entertainment projects, festivals and events and more,” Wells said. “It’s a huge employer as well, offering over 15,000 jobs in our area with a diverse range of salaries and hourly employees. And it’s an industry that continues to thrive even in a time when our area experiences a downturn in the economy – without which our economies would suffer a devastating shrinkage not only from the private sectors but also from the city tax base.”
Recognizing excellence is often the key to maintaining excellence, and the P.R.I.D.E. awards help to do just that.
“Louisiana has one of the strongest brands in the world known statewide for our food, music and culture, and we must continue to do our part in our area to live up to what our visitors expect when they visit north Louisiana,” Wells said.
Submissions are free to submit.
Submissions are accepted at www. surveymonkey.com/s/2014pride. Nominations close at 8 a.m. April 23.
– Betsy St. Amant
