Awards also presented to young professionals and industry leaders.
SITE honored the 2014 SITE Chapter of the Year and Excellence Award winners during the SITE Global Conference gala event hosted 16 November aboard the SS Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands. The awards acknowledge the extraordinary efforts and performance of local chapter leaders and members, recognize the importance of the SITE Chapter network, and support the growth and continued success of local initiatives. SITE partner Reed Travel Exhibitions generously sponsors the SITE Chapter of the Year and Excellence Awards.
The Chapter of the Year Award was presented to SITE Minnesota in recognition of the chapter’s continued growth, outstanding education programs and strategic planning. This year, the chapter hosted five educational events, including its highly popular Day of Education & Evening Boat Cruise. This “small but mighty” chapter prides themselves on being buyer/planner driven and boasts a high ratio of buyers and suppliers in attendance at their events.
Three other SITE Chapters received recognition for their achievements in 2014 with the Chapter Excellence Awards. Chapters submitted applications outlining the merits of their programs, and a committee of past and current chapter leaders selected the winners.
The 2014 Chapter Excellence Award recipients are:
- Education – SITE Texas, which hosted twelve educational programs, including a Roadshow series, which was held in multiple cities in their region.
- Membership – SITE Canada, which took a personal approach to engage all members and potential members in order to retain current members and attract new members.
- Special Event – SITE Southern California, which hosted their annual Holiday Event & Charity Auction, which attracted over 550 delegates and raised over $103,000 for three charities.
- During the gala event, SITE also recognized the contributions of individual SITE members with the following awards:
During the gala event, SITE also recognized the contributions of individual SITE members with the following awards:
The SITE Member of the Year Award was awarded to Patricia Perez-Sahin, Director, Ministry of Tourism of the Dominican Republic in Chicago, USA. This year, under her leadership, she led the way to have the SITE Executive Summit hosted in the Dominican Republic and also served as President of the SITE Chicago chapter.
Each year, the SITE Foundation awards the David Riddell Memorial Scholarship to a deserving recipient in honor of the late David Riddell of Marriott Corporation to honor his commitment to education. This year’s scholarship was awarded to Michael Dalton, Groups & Incentives Manager at Moloney & Kelley Travel in Dublin, Ireland. Michael is a dedicated and active member of the SITE Ireland chapter and currently serves on the SITE Young Leaders committee.
This year’s Richard Ross Past Presidents’ Award for Outstanding Service to the Incentive Travel Industry was presented to IMEX, represented by Ray Bloom and Paul Flackett. The award is presented in honor of Richard Ross, SITE Past President, who died in the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City. The award recognizes an individual or organization that has furthered the vision, ideals and ethics of SITE.
The Kevin Forde Spirit Award was presented to Melaya Horsten, Director of Marketing, Communication and Projects at Ignite Magazine and Jake Megrikian, Director of Sales & Marketing at InterContinental Hotels Los Angeles. As Co-Chairs of SITE Young Leaders, they worked tirelessly to develop this year’s very successful SITE Young Leaders conference in Las Vegas and have been instrumental in helping the SITE Young Leaders program to grow.
SITE is proud of the accomplishments of SITE Chapters and members in 2014 and congratulates all of the 2014 award recipients.
Tatiana is the news coordinator for TravelDailyNews Media Network (traveldailynews.gr, traveldailynews.com and traveldailynews.asia). Her role includes monitoring the hundreds of news sources of TravelDailyNews Media Network and skimming the most important according to our strategy.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication & Mass Media from Panteion University of Political & Social Studies of Athens and she has been editor and editor-in-chief in various economic magazines and newspapers.
