Bob Moore, publisher of Carroll County News and the Lovely County Citizen is among three nominees in the county for 2010 Henry Awards, presented annually by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism. Opera in the Ozarks and the Eureka Springs Parks and Recreation Commission are the county’s other nominees.
Winners will be revealed at the 36th annual Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism. The ceremony will take place during the Governor’s Banquet on the final night of the conference, Tuesday, March 9, beginning at 7:15 p.m. at the Best Western Inn of the Ozarks in Eureka Springs. The Henry Awards honor Henri de Tonti, the man historians consider to be among the first “Arkansas Travelers.”
Governor Mike Beebe has been invited to address the tourism industry. Miss Arkansas Sarah Slocum will present awards to the recipients and Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism Executive Director Richard W. Davies will preside at the ceremony.
Moore has been nominated for the Media Support Award, presented annually to a distinguished individual or organization for extraordinary attention to and/or support of Arkansas’s tourism industry through the use of media.
Other nominees in that category are Jimmy Sledge, of Warren, and the Newport Independent newspaper.
Opera in the Ozarks has been nominated for the Grand Old Classic Special Event Award, presented annually to a festival, fair, or other special celebration which has “stood the test of time” and become an established example for the more than 1,200 special events held in Arkansas each year.
Other nominees are the Frisco Festival in Rogers and the Terrapin Derby in Lepanto.
The Eureka Springs Parks and Tourism Commission has been nominated for the Arkansas Heritage Award, presented annually to an individual, organization, or community that has made a significant contribution toward the preservation of some aspect of Arkansas’s natural, cultural, or aesthetic legacy.
Other nominees are the Crossett Historical Society, and David Bogle and the Museum of Native American History in Bentonville.
Eureka Springs Parks & Recreation Commission, Eureka Springs
Other awards to be presented include the Bootstrap Award, presented annually to an individual, organization, or community that has achieved significant success “on a shoestring,” having limited means to work with, either in resources or finances.
Nominees are Argenta Downtown Council, North Little Rock; Sunken Lands Regional Chamber of Commerce, Tyronza; and Whitton Farms, Whitton.
The Outstanding Service Award, presented annually to a community, individual, or organization that, through outstanding volunteer spirit, has made a substantial contribution to Arkansas’s tourism industry, will go to either Bert Turner, North Little Rock; Bull Shoals Powerhouse Tours, Lakeview; or Lori A. Spencer, Paris.
The Community Tourism Development Award is presented annually to an individual or organization which has achieved substantial success in the enhancement of its local resources through imaginative and innovative development efforts.
Its nominees are the First Ever Annual World’s Shortest St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Hot Springs; Pumpkin Hollow, Piggott; and Southern Bancorp, Helena-West Helena.
The Natural State Award is presented annually to a community, organization, special event, or attraction which “stands out in the crowd” because of its unique appeal, media coverage, creative approach, and/or enhancement of community pride, thus benefiting the state’s quality of life.
Nominees for that award are Battle of Prairie Grove Civil War Reenactment, Prairie Grove; Caroling in the Caverns, Mountain View; and Heifer International’s Heifer Village, Little Rock.
The Tourism Special Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual or organization that has contributed to the tourism industry through leadership “above and beyond” the normal requirements of their jobs. Nominees are Nashville High School Travel & Tourism Program, Nashville;; Northwest Arkansas Naturals, Springdale; and Ross Moore, Clinton.
During the Henry Awards ceremonies the 2010 inductees into the Arkansas Tourism Hall of Fame and the 2009 Tourism Person of the Year will also be announced. The Hall of Fame honor is presented annually to individuals who have been actively involved in tourism for many years and who have made substantial contributions to the betterment of the industry as a whole.
Selected by former honorees, the Tourism Person of the Year Award is presented annually to an individual who has been actively involved in tourism and who has made a substantial contribution, within the past year, to the betterment of this industry as a whole.
For more information on the 36th Annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism, contact the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism at (501) 682-1120. For specific information on the Henry Awards, contact Donna Perrin or Kristine Puckett at (501) 682-5240.