CONNECTICUT CONVENTION & SPORTS BUREAU PRESENTS ITS "2016 BRING IT HOME AWARDS"

HARTFORD, CONN, April 29, 2016 – Six state residents have been honored with “2016 Bring It Home Awards” from the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB) for their contributions to making the state a successful meetings, convention and major sports events venue. The presentations were made on April 27 as part of the Connecticut Governor’s Conference on Tourism at the Connecticut Convention Center.

“Conventions, meetings and sports events in our state’s venues and hotels mean Big Business for Connecticut,” explains H. Scott Phelps, President of the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau (CTCSB). “The annual Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau’s ‘Bring It Home Awards’ recognize state residents who help to secure these bookings and, as a result, the economic activity, jobs and tax revenues they produce for our State and local economies. Attendees stay at hotels, dine in restaurants, visit our attractions, shop at retail establishments, and the organizers contract for a variety of local services necessary for running a successful event.”

“We greatly value the efforts of these individuals and believe it is important to publicly thank them for their commitment in helping to bring events into our state,” states Phelps. “They are tremendous promoters of the assets Connecticut has to offer visitors.”

At the April 27 conference, the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau presented awards to: 

• Hartford residents Africka S. Hinds and Carolyn M. Thomas of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, for bringing AKA’s 85th North Atlantic Regional Conference to the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, March 30-April 3, 2016; 

• Guilford resident Charles B. Beckman, M.D. of the Connecticut Model A Restorers Club, for bringing the New England Meet to the Mystic Marriott in Groton in September 18-20, 2015; 

• Old Lyme resident Walter E. Veselka and Enfield resident Tim Webb of the New England Chapter of the American Public Works Association, for bringing the 2016 APWA North American Snow & Ice Conference to the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford, this coming May 22-25, 2016; and  

• Fairfield resident Eugene P. Doris, the Athletic Director for Fairfield University, for bringing the 2016 NCAA Division 1 Women's Basketball Regional to the Webster Bank Arena in Bridgeport, March 26-28, 2016. 

The Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau (CTCSB) works in partnership with the state’s businesses, institutions, nonprofit organizations, and surrounding communities to market all of Connecticut – convention and meeting venues, hotels and attractions, and sporting venues – as a premier destination for international, national, regional and statewide conferences, conventions and major sports events. In the last fiscal year, the CTCSB booked more than 65,500 hotel room nights with over 340,000 attendees, resulting in $62.7 million in spending by those attendees during their visits to the state and generating $4.8 million in Connecticut taxes. In addition, close to 21,000 Connecticut jobs in the hospitality industry were supported by meetings, conventions & sports events as a result of these bookings.* The public-private partnership is funded by dues from members and by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) and Connecticut Office of Tourism. The Connecticut Sports Advisory Board, a division of the CTCSB, focuses its efforts on attracting and serving international, national and regional sporting events. For more information about the Connecticut Convention & Sports Bureau, visit www.CTmeetings.org or call 860-728-6789.