2016 Ozark Gateway Banquet had a Great Turnout and Awesome Guests and Award Winners!
On Thursday March 31st, the Ozark Gateway banquet was held in Mammoth Spring. There was a great crowd including local officials and business leaders from around the region. The banquet started off with OG President Adam Davis giving opening remarks. He then passed the podium to Mayor Jean Pace to give an introduction to the town and tell about George D Hay.
Mammoth Spring was the inspiration for the Grand Ole Opry and has rich music history. In 1919 George D Hay visited the town and was invited to a cabin where locals played music and danced till the crack of dawn. Years later, after becoming the WSM radio director; Mr. Hay used the inspiration from that little Cabin in Mammoth Spring to create the Grand Old Opry. So it was only fitting that the 2016 Ozark Gateway banquet was held in the George D. Hay music barn.
Mayor Pace then handed the program over to Cathy Drew, the executive Director of Ozark Gateway. Cathy introduced all the board members that were present and acknowledged Mayor Pace and Charles Snapp, the Mayor of Walnut Ridge.
Adam and Cathy then gave away several door prizes and introduced the band. Members of the band Countryfied volunteered their time to come play at the banquet and provide a sample of what has made Mammoth Spring a legend in folk music.
John Morrow, the superintendent from Ozark Folk Center State Park gave the invocation and banquet guests were invited to fill their plates with delicious food from Carrie’s Diner, who catered the evening meal. The menu consisted of chicken cordon bleu, beef roast, green beans, mashed potatoes and several amazing cobblers.
After the meal Adam introduced the guest speaker, Kane Webb, the Executive Director of Parks and Tourism. Davis joked that Kane was still a rookie, after just recently taking the reins from long time director Richard Davies. Mr. Webb spoke about the amazing state of tourism in Arkansas and how that 2015 was one of the best years ever in the tourism industry. He also acknowledged the parks and tourism employees that serve as his support staff; Tiffany Know, Kristine Puckett, Miranda White, Marcel Hanzlik and Kim Williams. Mr. Webb went on to say he admired the Ozark Gateway region and its leadership and gave special praise to Cathy Drew as one of the top regional directors in the state. He finished by saying that tourism numbers for 2016 were on a record setting pace and encouraged everyone to keep up the good work. The crowd gave a rousing applause as Mr. Webb handed the program back over to Adam. It was apparent that parks and tourism is in great hands.
Adam and Cathy took the stage and transitioned into the long anticipated awards ceremony. To help hand out the awards they invited Crystal Crow to come to the stage. Several awards were given out to the “Friends of Tourism” and “Partners in Tourism”. The Partners in Tourism winners were; Areawide Media, Citizens Bank, First Community Bank, Future Fuel and North Arkansas Electric. Friends of Tourism winners were; KFFB Radio, My Hometown Radio Stations, Batesville Guard and W.R.D Entertainment.
Crystal then announced it was time to present the Wilson Powell Media Support award. This award is presented to a business that has made a major impact on tourism and has helped the Ozark Gateway further their mission. The 2016 Wilson Powell Media Support winner went to W.R.D. Entertainment!
Next up was the prestigious Tom Biggs awards, given for excellence in tourism. This is presented to an individual who has done an outstanding job over the past year in promoting tourism in the Ozark Gateway and volunteering to better their community. This year was especially tough because two finalists were very deserving. So it was decided to honor them both! The 2016 Tom Biggs award went to Bill Carroll and Gloria Sanders!
The last award of the evening was the President’s Award. This is honor is not handed out every year and is reserved as a special acknowledgement of an individual’s hard work and volunteer spirit. This year’s award went to Casey Crocker for his outstanding support of Ozark Gateway. Casey provided the region with photos and video to use in promotion. He also traveled to festivals in the region to help shoot promotional footage.
That concluded the awards banquet and Cathy and Adam invited the crowd to take photos in the Ozark Gateway booth and to mingle.
