Tourism awards to be presented
    The Kansas City Kansas Wyandotte County Convention & Visitors Bureau will celebrate a successful year at its annual Tourism Celebration Thursday, May 8. The luncheon celebration will be held from noon to 1:30 p.m. at the Reardon Convention Center, 500 Minnesota Ave. 
    The guest speaker at the Tourism Celebration will be John Imes, executive director for the Wisconsin Environmental Initiative (WEI).  Over the last two years, Imes has worked with the Wisconsin Department of Tourism on Travel Green Wisconsin, a voluntary program that reviews, certifies and recognizes tourism businesses and organizations that have made a commitment to continuously improve their operations in order to reduce their environmental impact. 
    John and his wife Cathie founded Arbor House, An Environmental Inn, which has won the Boston Society of Architects’ prestigious “sustainable design” award and is listed on the National Green Pages, the largest annual directory of leading socially and environmentally responsible business.
    Four Annual Tourism Awards will be presented. They include Excellence in Hospitality Award, Tourism Event of the Year, Tourism Organization of the Year and Tourism Advocate of the Year.
    The bureau will be hosting a free “Tourism, Going Green” seminar, presented by Imes, immediately following the Tourism Celebration Luncheon from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Convention Center  Imes will go in depth on how you can attract eco-friendly visitors to your facility, how to improve your operations in order to reduce environmental impact, and how to implement an ecotourism strategy that gives your business an edge.
    For more information on the Tourism Celebration or any of the award winners please contact the Kansas City Kansas Wyandotte County Convention and Visitors Bureau at 913-321-5800.