Visit Colorado Springs Honors Region’s Tourism Stars
The 2022 annual awards celebration goes “Hollywood”
Colorado Springs, Colo. – October 14, 2022 – Last night, VCOS held its annual Tourism Awards Celebration, presented by Southwest Airlines®. The Hollywood-themed event took place at the historic City Auditorium – lovingly dubbed as The Grand Old Lady – and recognized several tourism stars who were nominated by industry peers.
Award wins included:
- Hospitality Customer Service Award – Csenge Balogh, Front Desk Manager at Kinship Landing: Csenge leads by example, shows genuine compassion for her team and guests, and has a keen eye for what people really need.
- Tourism Customer Service Award – Jessica Fierro, Owner & Head Brew Master at Atrevida Beer Company: Jess is an advocate for diversity in every facet of the community and ensures Atrevida’s doors are always open to whomever walks through them.
- Community Outreach Award – Peggie Yager, Treasurer at Miramont Castle Museum: Peggie leads her team of volunteers to make the “Mercy at Miramont” event a magical night of warmth, love and cheer for local families who are going through difficult times.
- Rising Star Award – Gray Warrior, Owner of Gray Filter Photography: With his talent in videography and photography, Gray brings knowledge and insight regarding Colorado Springs’ culture, growth and potential to every project he tackles.
- Tourism Leadership Award – PK McPherson, Executive Director of Pikes Peak Region Attractions: PK has become one of the top visionaries and promoters of the Pikes Peak Region, serving on many committees and projects and exemplifying leadership that will benefit the region for years to come.
In addition to the awards recognition, several VCOS staff members were honored for achieving 25 years of work with VCOS. The honorees include Doris McCraw, Information Specialist, Cheryl McCullough, Senior Director of Sports & Events and Kathy Reak, Vice President of Sales.
The event was emceed by Pat Treuer of Treuer Laughs comedy. Doug Price, VCOS President & CEO, presented the awards. Remarks were also made by Lexi Muller, Regional Manager of Community Outreach at Southwest Airlines, and Linda Weise, President & CEO of the Colorado Springs Community Cultural Collective. The CSCCC is a 501C3 dedicated solely to the preservation and revitalization of the Colorado Springs City Auditorium.
More than 200 guests were in attendance, walking the red carpet in their best Hollywood awards gala attire. VCOS food and beverage partners provided delicious food and drink samples.
Sponsors included: Southwest Airlines (presenting), the Colorado Springs City Auditorium (host), The Broadmoor Manitou and Pikes Peak Cog Railway (gold), Pikes Peak – America’s Mountain (gold), Colorado Springs Airport (gold), Colorado Springs Sports Corporation (gold), Adventures Out West (gold), Ent Business banking (gold), Treuer Laughs (gold), Pikes Peak Region Attractions (awards), Garden of the Gods Trading Post (awards). Special thanks to the official event photographer Jack Goras Photography, event paparazzi Gray Warrior and Jack Hebert, costumed characters from Red Herring Productions and music by Laser Sound.
Food and beverage tastings provided by: 1350 Distillery, 291 Colorado Whiskey, 3 Hundred Days of Shine, Angie’s Latin Food, The Antlers, Axe and the Oak Distillery, Bristol Brewing Company, Cerberus Brewing Company, Garden of the Gods Resort, Goat Patch Brewing Company, Great Wolf Lodge, Jack Quinn’s Irish Pub, Kinship Landing, OCC Brewing, Outback Steakhouse, The Picnic Basket Sasquatch Cookies and The Winery at Holy Cross Abby.
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