Happy 2019! It is hard to believe the first month of the year has already passed. I am excited about what this year has in store for all of St. Louis and for our organization. I am looking forward to the March meeting as President as I was unfortunately unable to make the January meeting. I know the Board presented a great luncheon and I thank them for taking over in my absence.
I want to thank you all for attending our January meeting, where we had an exciting luncheon celebrating St. Louis. Ginger Imster from the St. Louis Economic Development Corporation came to share all of the great things happening for the city. Everything from Art, Science, Start-Ups, and the Food Scene are putting St. Louis on the map as a top destination. We greatly appreciate Ginger’s time and providing such a fun presentation. I would also like to thank The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center for providing a wonderful event space and for Butler’s Pantry for the yummy lunch!
We were also able to recognize Jennifer Hollenkamp with an award for doing such an amazing job as the 2018 SLAA President. Her guidance and mentorship created a strong year for the organization.
We were honored to present the 2018 Spirit of St. Louis Award Winners. We had many amazing nominations this year which made the task of choosing the winners very difficult, but a great problem to have! Please join me in congratulating the following programs and individuals:
- Spirit of St. Louis Individual Award – Sarah Clark, Bi-State Development’s Director of Operations for the Gateway Arch
- Spirit of St. Louis Program Award – Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Exhibit at the Saint Louis Science Center
- Spirit of St. Louis Hall of Fame Award – Tom Dunn, former Director of Operations for the Gateway Arch Riverboats
Thank you to Josh Blasingame with the Gateway Arch for handling the nomination process this year, and a special thank you to all those who nominated a program or individual for the 2018 season. We appreciate your participation, and the opportunity to recognize the amazing hospitality and tourism community! And it’s never too early to start thinking of deserving candidates for 2019! Applications are always available.
The March Meeting is March 20th at The Ritz-Carlton. Don’t miss our St. Louis update to see what is coming this year for the tourism sector of St. Louis.
Thank you for your time and devotion to this association. We couldn’t do it without our members! If you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me.
Jessica Utterback
2019 President
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