HARTFORD, CONN. - The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) recently presented "2014 Bring It Home Awards" to six state residents for their contributions to making the state a successful meetings, convention and major sports events venue. The presentations were made during the awards ceremony at the Connecticut Conference on Tourism (CCOT) at the Connecticut Convention Center.

"The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau greatly values the initiative and support of area business and organizational leaders who contact their colleagues and association members within their industries, societies and professions to promote Connecticut as a future meeting destination," explains Michael Van Parys, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau. "We also honor Connecticut residents who produce their own events in our state and work with our Bureau to make their projects even more successful. Attendees to meetings, conventions and sports events in generate millions of dollars in revenue annually for Connecticut's local economy by staying at hotels, dining in restaurants, visiting leisure attractions, shopping at retail establishments," adds Van Parys. "And their meeting planners contract for a variety of local services necessary to running a successful event."

The 2014"Bring It Home Awards" were presented to:

  • Manchester resident Jacques Lamarre, Director of Communications & Special Projects at the Mark Twain House & Museum for coordinating a fundraiser for his attraction entitled "Stephen King in Conversation with Colin McEnroe", at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in July 2013;
  • Cheshire resident Jack McDonald, Director of Athletics & Recreation at Quinnipiac University, for bringing the 2014 NCAA Division I Women's Ice Hockey Frozen Four to Hamden, Conn. in March 2014;
  • Bloomfield resident Carol P. Meredith, Director of Prevention Services for the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, for bringing the National Prevention Network-27th Annual Prevention Research Conference to the Connecticut Convention Center this September 2014;
  • Bridgeport resident Brian Cannone, for bringing "Fitness Atlantic" to Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre in April 2014 and for more than a decade before then;
  • Madison resident Norman K. Prevost, Past President of the Southern New England Chapter (SNEC) of the Project Management Institute (PMI)'s Region 3 Conference at the Hilton Mystic on May 30-June 2, 2013; and

 

  • New Milford resident John Henkel for bringing the German Shepherd Dog Club of America's "2013 North American Sieger Show" to Bridgeport's Beardsley Park in October 2013.

 

The Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) is a public-private entity that is funded by dues from member organizations and by the Connecticut Department of Economic & Community Development (DECD). The organization works in partnership with the state's businesses, institutions, nonprofit organizations, and surrounding communities to market all of Connecticut - all convention and meeting venues, hotels and attractions, and sporting venues - as a premier destination for international, national, regional and statewide conventions. The Connecticut Sports Convention Advisory Board, a division of the CTCSB, focuses its efforts on attracting and serving international, national and regional sporting events. Visit www.ctmeetings.org or call (860) 728-6789.