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Kudos
This
column recognizes the outstanding achievements of those in the
tourism industry. Please join us in acknowledging these
accomplishments.
The Crowne Plaza Fort Myers earns prestigious honor
Crowne
Plaza Hotels North America has presented The Crowne Plaza Fort
Myers with the Gold Brand Citizen Award for the third quarter
2009. The award names Crowne Plaza Fort Myers as the
top-ranked hotel in guest accommodation services, guest
meeting services, property standards compliance and community
relations out of more than 175 hotels in the Crowne Plaza
brand.
The Crowne
Plaza offers 226 rooms and 10,000 square feet of flexible
meeting space, along with a full-service sports bar.
 Jeff
Staner promoted to Miromar Outlets vice president
Jeff Staner
(r)
has been promoted to vice president of Miromar Outlets, where
he has been the general manager since the mall opened in 1998.
With more than 29 years of experience in property management, Staner
oversees the daily operations and marketing of Miromar
Outlets.
Miromar
Outlets, voted southwest Florida's "Best Factory Outlet
Shopping Center" for 11 years in a row, features more than 140
designer and brand name manufacturers' outlet stores and is
located at exit 123 off I-75.
 Fort
Myers hotel wins worldwide recognition
For the
second year in a row, the Hampton Inn & Suites Fort
Myers-Colonial Boulevard has won the Hilton Hotels Lighthouse
Award for being in the top 5 percent of Hampton Hotels
worldwide.
The award
is determined by a combination of customer service scores
through e-comment cards and periodic brand quality
inspections. Hilton Hotels conducts the unannounced
inspections. The Lee County hotel ranked eighth out of 532 for
all Hampton Inn & Suites and also had the eighth highest
customer service scores for all 1,730 in the Hampton brand
worldwide.
The Hampton
Inn & Suites Fort Myers-Colonial Boulevard offers 102 rooms
and is located just off Colonial Boulevard near I-75.
Florida Rep makes national headlines again
The Florida
Repertory Theatre in Fort Myers was featured in the Feb. 12
edition of the Wall Street Journal in a review of its
recent production, Kaufman & Hart's Pulitzer Prize winning
comedy You Can't Take It With
You. Acclaimed
drama critic Terry Teachout called the production
"satisfyingly true to the warm-hearted humor of You Can't
Take It With You."
This was
Teachout’s second visit to Fort Myers. In January 2009, he
called the theatre's production of Dancing at Lughnasa
"profoundly satisfying," telling America to "make haste to
Fort Myers, where the weather is warm and the theater fine."
In December 2009, Teachout counted that production among only
a handful of productions on Broadway and across the country
that he considered to be the "Best of 2009."
Florida
Repertory Theatre performs in the historic Arcade Theatre on
Bay Street between Jackson and Hendry streets with free
parking in the Fort Myers River District. Visit Florida Rep
online at
www.floridarep.org.
River District streetscape project complete
Photo by Eloise Pennington, City of Fort Myers
The City of Fort Myers has officially cut the ribbon on the
River District “Streetscape” utility replacement and
beautification project.
While the project, which began in late 2005, beautified the
River District, its intent was replacement of all existing
water, sewer and storm drain systems, many of which dated back
to the early 1900s. Once the underground utility replacement
work on each street was complete, street beautification
elements were constructed including brick-accented sidewalks
and crosswalks, streetscape amenities, landscaping and
lighting. Street furniture such as benches, waste receptacles
and decorative bike racks also were added.
More than 500,000 bricks that were once covered by asphalt
under the River District streets were recovered, restored and
reused in the project.
Brides recognize Casa Ybel Resort with international acclaim
Casa Ybel Resort on Sanibel Island has been recognized with
the 2010 Weddingwire.com Bride's Choice
Award. The WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards ™
recognize the top local wedding professionals from the
WeddingWire Network that demonstrate excellence in quality,
service, responsiveness and professionalism.
Unlike other awards in which winners are
selected by the organization, the Bride’s Choice Awards are
determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from more
than 500,000 newlyweds. This year’s winners represent the top
5 percent of WeddingWire’s vendor community, which includes
more than 100,000 wedding professionals nationwide.
Officials celebrate opening of Blind Pass
Celebrating the opening of Blind Pass from left to
right: Brian Bigelow, Lee County Board of County
Commissioners; Kevin Ruane, City of Sanibel and Lee County
Tourist Development Council; Tamara Pigott, Lee County Visitor
& Convention Bureau; the late Bob Janes, Lee County Board of County
Commissioners; Tony Lapi, Rochester Resorts and Lee County
Tourist Development Council.
Celebrating
the environmentally significant reopening of Blind Pass
between Sanibel and Captiva islands, Lee County, Captiva,
Sanibel and environmental leaders officially cut the ribbon on
the Blind Pass Ecosystem Restoration Project in January.
Since the
1920s, Blind Pass as been an unstable ecosystem and has closed
and reopened only to close again several times. When the pass
is closed, tidal flushing can’t occur, which consequently
leads to a decline in water quality on the bayside and changes
the habitat. The reopening of Blind Pass is vital to
maintaining the water system and environment while restoring
the habitat for birds and marine life and improving the nearby
beaches.
The
restoration project was a group effort involving a number of
organizations including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,
J.N. “Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge, Florida
Department of Environmental Projection (DEP), Lee County Board
of County Commissioners, Lee County Tourist Development
Council (TDC), Capitva Erosion Protection District (CEPD) and
the City of Sanibel. The project was funded by the TDC, CEPD
and DEP.
Lee
County Commissioners honor TDC member as Citizen of the Year
Finalists and the Burton Family share a moment with the winner
of the 19th annual Paulette Burton Citizen of the
Year Award, which was presented by the Lee County Board of
County Commissioners to Lee County Tourist Development Council
Vice Chair Roxie Smith on Feb. 16 in the commission chambers.
Lee County
Tourist Development Council Vice Chair Roxie Smith received
the Paulette Burton Citizen of the Year Award at the Lee
County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Feb. 16. The
award recognizes citizens who provide outstanding civic
contributions to county government and demonstrate interest in
partnerships and promotion of harmony between the community
and county government. Smith was nominated by John Albion,
Greater Fort Myers Beach Chamber of Commerce president and
former President D.J. Petrucelli.
“Her
tireless efforts through a lifetime of effort and commitment
have been both inspiring and recognized by leaders at both the
county and state levels,” Albion and Petrucelli stated. “Her
resume is remarkable and has only been exceeded by her heart
for others.”
Smith has
served on numerous Visit Florida volunteer committees
including the Florida Commission on Tourism and Florida’s
Cultural Heritage and Nature Tourism Development Committee.
Smith continues her 24-year tenure on the Lee County Tourist
Development Council.
The award was created in 1991 to
honor Burton, a late citizen-activist and longtime Sanibel
Island resident.
Corkscrew Swamp earns international recognition
The Ramsar
Convention has named the Audubon of Florida’s Corkscrew Swamp
Sanctuary, home to the largest strand of old-growth Bald
Cypress trees in North America, as a Ramsar Wetland of
International Importance.
Ramsar's Secretary General Anada Tiéga
presented the designation at a ceremony at Corkscrew in
February. Only 22 other locations in the United States
have earned the designation, including two others in Florida –
Everglades National Park and Pelican Island National Wildlife
Refuge.
The goal of the Wetlands of International
Importance program is to “develop and maintain an
international network of wetlands which are important for the
conservation of global biological diversity and for sustaining
human life through the maintenance of their ecosystem
components, processes and benefits/services,” according to the
Ramsar Convention Web site,
www.ramsar.org.
Corkscrew
Swamp Sanctuary is located on Sanctuary Road West north of
Immokalee Road. For more information, visit
www.corkscrew.audubon.org or call 239-348-9151.
To share a kudos for awards, promotions or other
accomplishments in the local tourism industry, e-mail
lrose@leegov.com.
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