Now that we are full speed ahead into 2018, it is easy to get wrapped up in event planning, preparing bids, site tours, and tradeshows. However, it is important to look back on everything you accomplished in 2017. There is no better way to recap your 2017 than submitting an entry for an NASC Member Award. On behalf of the NASC Awards Committee, I invite you to submit an entry or nomination by the Friday, February 23rd deadline.

The Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau was honored to be named the 2015 Sports Tourism Organization of the Year (Population Under 250,000). The positive outcomes of submitting and receiving the award were much greater than we imagined. Below are a few of these positive outcomes.

Industry Recognition – Free publicity is excellent and free publicity in front of a target audience is even better. We were fortunate enough to be recognized in front of peers at NASC Sports Event Symposium, in the NASC Playbook, NASC website, national sports tourism publications, and local media outlets. It gave us a valuable opportunity to tell our story of the Fox Cities.

Organizational Support – When preparing our submission, we reached out to various rights holders, local sports clubs, elected officials, hoteliers, and attractions seeking letters of support. The response was overwhelming, from the volume of letters received to the encouraging words they contained. This process brought our organization closer to and improved our relationships with those individuals.

Community Award – Being a smaller CVB, we rely on many local sports clubs, teams, facilities, parks departments, universities, and high schools to accomplish our goals. We simply could not host the level of prestigious events without them. This was an award for everyone, not just myself, our Director of Sports Marketing, Matt Ten Haken, and the CVB.

Validated Efforts – With the NASC Member Awards being the highest honor in the sports tourism industry, receiving the award confirmed our time and dollars spent in the sports market are worthwhile. It demonstrated to our board of directors, municipalities contributing room tax to our operations, and various stakeholders that their support is directed in the proper areas.

To learn more about the NASC Member Awards, click here.

Sports Marketing Manager
Fox Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau
NASC Awards Committee