MCLEAN, VA. JULY 20, 2018 The Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) Americas is accepting nominations for its Lifetime Achievement Awards and The Top 25 Extraordinary Minds in Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization. Awards will be presented to honorees during the HSMAI Adrian Awards Dinner Reception & Gala on January 22, 2019 at the New York Marriott Marquis.
HSMAI’s Lifetime Achievement awards, the Albert E. Koehl Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Marketing and the Winthrop W. Grice Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hospitality Public Relations, recognize individuals who have spent a significant portion of their careers in the hospitality and travel profession and have contributed to the betterment of the industry in a noteworthy and lasting way, over an extended period of time.
Nominations for awards can be made at http://www.adrianawards.com/gala/lifetime.asp. The HSMAI Lifetime Awards Committee, which comprises previous recipients, will review all nominations and select this year’s winners.
In 2017, Edwin “Ed” Fuller, president, Laguna Strategic Advisors, was honored with the Albert E. Koehl Award and Terence “Terry” Gallagher, president, Lou Hammond Group, received the Winthrop W. Grice Award.
“Many of the advances within the hospitality industry are spurred by the visionary ideas and contributions of dedicated individuals over the course of their lifelong careers,” said Robert A. Gilbert, CHME, CHBA, president and CEO of HSMAI. “On behalf of the HSMAI Lifetime Awards committee, I encourage hospitality professionals to take some time to consider seasoned travel professionals who have played such a role in the field, and to nominate them.”
Each year, HSMAI honors The HSMAI Top 25: Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality Sales, Marketing, and Revenue Optimization. This list showcases exceptional sales and marketing leaders of hospitality, travel, and tourism organizations for their accomplishments in the preceding 18 months. Nominations can be made at http://www.adrianawards.com/competition/top25.asp until August 22, 2018. The “Top 25” awardees will be selected by a panel of senior industry executives based on creativity and innovation, cutting-edge sales or marketing campaigns, triumph in challenging situations, and sales efforts that resulted in dramatic gains.
“The Top 25 awards are a tangible way to celebrate senior-level hospitality professionals whose innovative thinking consistently generates tremendous results and also challenges and inspires colleagues at their organizations and across the travel industry,” Gilbert said.
HSMAI will honor The Top 25 in conjunction with the Adrian Awards Dinner Reception and Gala, and in a private ceremony.
The following individuals were celebrated as the 2017 Top 25: Extraordinary Minds:
- Chris Anderson, chief commercial officer, White Lodging
- Krista Bentley, strategic accounts director, Expedia Media Solutions
- Michael Cady, VP, marketing, Charlestowne Hotels
- Adriaan Coppens, chief executive officer, OTA Insight
- Kelly Dalton, director of communications, Best Western Hotels and Resorts
- Kyle Rutledge Edmiston, assistant secretary, Louisiana Office of Tourism
- Elliott Ferguson, president & CEO, Destination DC
- Leon Goldberg, complex director sales & marketing, New York Marriott Marquis & The Sheraton New York Times Square
- Terri Haack, president, Terranea
- Katie Johnson, senior director of branding & marketing, Two Roads Hospitality
- Christine Lawson, SVP, Loews Sales Organization, Loews Hotels & Co.
- Robert Levine, vice president hotel revenue optimization & customer care, Seminole Gaming
- Sarah Beam Lukas, director, RitzCarlton.com, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
- Kerry Mack, EVP of revenue & distribution, Highgate
- Mariana Mechoso Safer, SVP, global marketing, HEBS Digital
- Chris Nixon, AVP of revenue optimization, Ashford
- Joelle Park, senior director all suites marketing, Hilton
- Tammy Peter, VP distribution & connectivity strategy, Wyndham Hotel Group
- Tim Peter, president, Tim Peter & Associates
- Tim Sullivan, chief sales & marketing officer, Cendyn
- Jenny Thomassian, head of travel marketing & sales, Google
- Amanda Voss, vice president of sales, Park MGM Las Vegas
- Dan Wacksman, senior vice president of marketing and distribution, Outrigger Hotels and Resorts
- Kurt Weinsheimer, senior vice president of property solutions, Sojern
- Ernest Wooden, president and CEO, Los Angeles Convention & Tourism Board
For background on last year’s Top 25 winners, visit: http://www.hsmai.org/knowledge/whitepapermarketing.cfm?ItemNumber=42804.
Building on a more than 60-year legacy as the most prestigious travel advertising, public relations, and digital marketing competition, the HSMAI Adrian Awards honor innovative, results-oriented campaigns focused on hospitality, travel, and tourism industries. The HSMAI Adrian Awards Dinner Reception and Gala, January 22, 2019 at the New York Marriott Marquis, will celebrate recipients of the Adrian Awards, Lifetime Achievement Awards, and the Top 25.
For more information on the Top 25, contact Stacy Gleason at sgleason@hsmai.org, for the Adrian Awards competition contact Ellen Wilson at ewilson@hsmai.org, visit http://www.adrianawards.com, or follow Adrian Awards news on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/adrianawards. For information on becoming an Adrian Awards partner, contact Elise Rhinehart at erhinehart@hsmai.org.
