GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE ON TOURISM AND RECREATION
PRESENTS AWARDS
Diane Brandt from Glasgow Named Volunteer Tourism Person of
the Year
Glacier Country’s Linda Anderson Named Tourism Industry Person
of the Year
Bigfork Chosen Tourism
Community of the Year
Utica’s “What the Hay”
Contest Chosen Tourism Event of the
Year
Half Moon Ranch Cattle
Drive and Montana Farm Bureau Receive the New Tourism
Partnership Award
Helena, MT-March 25,
2003 –
Diane Brandt of Glasgow was honored with the Volunteer Tourism Person
of the Year Award and Linda Anderson of Bigfork was named the Tourism
Industry Person of the Year, Bigfork received Montana’s Community of
the Year Award, Utica’s “What the Hay” Contest was named the Event of
the Year and the Half Moon Ranch Cattle Drive and Montana Farm Bureau
received the Tourism Partnership Awards at the 29th Annual
Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Recreation in Helena.
Over 400 people attended the two-day event. Governor Judy Martz
and the Governor’s Tourism Advisory Council (TAC) presented these awards
at a Tuesday, March 25, closing banquet.
Diane Brandt of Glasgow was recognized for
her commitment to preserve and promote tourism attractions in northeastern
Montana. In announcing Brandt’s award, chair of the Governor’s Tourism
Advisory Council, Kathy Brown of Helena, praised Brandt for her commitment
to Fort Peck Lake and the Glasgow area.
Brandt served on the Governor appointed
Tourism Advisory Council for twelve years and was a former member of
the Missouri River Country Board of Directors as well as volunteering
her time on many local and statewide organizations.
Linda Anderson, Executive Director of Glacier
Country, was named Tourism Industry Person of the Year. Anderson was honored for her dedication
to marketing Montana and Glacier Country as a destination for all walks
of life. Her marketing
efforts are consistently innovative and serve to raise the bar for other
tourism organizations.
Linda’s commitment to her job and Montana
tourism reaches beyond her official duties, she is always cheerful,
always knowledgeable, always willing to help and always professional.
Bigfork received the Montana Tourism Community
of the Year Award. The northwestern Montana community was recognized
for its’ annual “Christmas in Bigfork” celebration and promotional efforts
of a group of volunteer community members in building a major tourism
destination.
Two new awards were presented for the first
time this year. The Tourism
Event of the Year is presented to an outstanding event that has benefited
the community and state in an exemplary and creative manner and the
Tourism Partnership Award recognizes outstanding contributions by two
or more businesses or organizations, which combine their resources in
creative, innovative ways to promote tourism in Montana.
Utica’s “What the Hay” Contest was named
the Tourism Event of the Year.
The idea to decorate hay bales began as a practical joke between
two ranchers in 1989. The
contest now attracts bumper-to-bumper traffic from Windham through Utica
to Hobson, three ranching communities in the Judith Basin.
The contest has grown to over 50 entries and nearly 10,000 visitors. The contest is held the first Sunday after
Labor Day each year.
The Half Moon Ranch Cattle Drive and the
Montana Farm Bureau received the Tourism Partnership Award. In 1989, Art and Eileen Nelson decided
to offer visitors to Montana the opportunity to join them when they
moved their cattle between their winter and summer ranches in the Lewistown
and Lavina areas. They
recently teamed up with the Montana Farm Bureau so they could expand
the cattle drive. Now the Montana Farm Bureau provides the
administration and in return the Nelson’s donate a large portion of
their proceeds to the Montana Farm Bureau Young Farmer & Rancher
program. This allows Montana youth the opportunity
to participate in agricultural forums and programs. Last year they were able to donate $10,000
to the fund.
Tourism is one of Montana’s leading basic
industries. In 2002, 9.7 million people visited Montana spending $1.8
billion during their stay. 33,500
jobs are directly and indirectly supported by nonresident travel with
an annual payroll of $506.5 million annually.
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