For Immediate Release

MEET MINNEAPOLIS

AWARD RECIPIENTS AND NEW BOARD MEMBERS ANNOUNCED AT ANNUAL MEETING

Minneapolis (Feb. 24, 2015) --- Meet Minneapolis, Convention and Visitors Association, announced the recipients of their annual awards and the incoming Board of Directors members at the 2015 Meet Minneapolis Annual Meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at the Minneapolis Convention Center. With more than 460 partners, elected officials and other guests in attendance, Meet Minneapolis officials reflected on the hospitality successes of the past year and welcomed a keynote address by John Sweeney, owner of Brave New Workshop.

Well, we did it. 2014 was amazing, Meet Minneapolis President and CEO Melvin Tennant told the attendees. We declared 2014 to be THE year. And it was. The Best. Year. Ever.

2014 was a record-breaking year, from hotel occupancy to hospitality jobs. Meet Minneapolis exceeded their 2014 goals from revenue earned to future room nights booked. Details were released previously: www.minneapolis.org/article/2014-minneapolis-most-successful-year-hospitality.

Meet Minneapolis Board of Directors

Meet Minneapolis announced the election of 12 new members to its Board of Directors. New members include Julie J.J. Haywood (Pizza Luce), Matt Hoy (Minnesota Twins), Jeannie Joas (J.B. Hudson Jewelers), Peter Killen (Cara Irish Pubs), Steve Lindburg (Radisson Blu Minneapolis), Tim Murray (Murrays Restaurant), Dan OBrien (University of Minnesota), Eric Pehle (Weber Shandwick), Maya Santamaria (Santamaria Broadcasting), Dave Schad (Fleishmann Hillard), Saed Wadi (Saffron Restaurant) and Kevin Warren (Minnesota Vikings).

The boards executive committee consists of President & CEO Melvin Tennant, Meet Minneapolis; Chair Rob Moor, Minnesota Timberwolves & Lynx; Vice Chair John Luke, Hilton Minneapolis; Treasurer: Robert Lux, Alatus L-L-C; Secretary Susan Adams Loyd, Clear Channel Outdoor; and Immediate Past President Peter Mihajlov, Parasole Restaurant Holdings.

Minneapolis Hospitality Industry Awards

Meet Minneapolis announced the Annual Meeting award recipients for their outstanding efforts within the Minneapolis hospitality industry:

• The Innovation in Tourism Award went to Metro Transit, for the implementation of the METRO Green Line light rail.
• The Minnesota Chapter of Meeting Professionals International received one of three awards for Excellence in Meetings, Events & Conventions.
• The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority also received this award for their collaboration in securing high profile sporting events: Super bowl 52 in 2018 and the NCAA Mens Final Four in 2019.
• The final award for meeting excellence went to the local chapter of American Public Works Association for their efforts in securing the 2016 APWA Congress.
• A new award this year, The Presidents Award, was presented to Inspector Medaria Arradondo and the First Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department for keeping Minneapolis safe during large-scale events such as the 2014 Major League Baseball All-Star Game and Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress in 2014.

Additionally, Meet Minneapolis recognizes a hospitality industry professional in Minneapolis once per quarter as the Hospitality Hero; previously honored for first-third quarters were Barista Frank Goldman, Hyatt Regency Minneapolis; Event Coordinator Ellen Kosmoski, Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board; and Bell Captain Thomas Moore, Marriott City Center. Announcing the final fourth quarter 2014 recipient at the annual meeting, Meet Minneapolis recognized Becky Harris, co-owner, Event Lab.

Becky worked closely with the Meet Minneapolis event planning team during Meeting Professionals International World Education Congress in 2014. For more than a year, she worked with Meet Minneapolis to secure permits and coordinate partners and vendors in order to make Minneapolis shine in the spotlight.

PHOTOS will be available later this week; contact Kristen Montag for image requests or watch for images to be added at www.flickr.com/photos/minneapo....

ABOUT MEET MINNEAPOLIS

Meet Minneapolis is a private, not-for-profit, member-based association. It actively promotes and sells the Minneapolis area as a destination for conventions and meetings, works to maximize the visitor experience and markets the city as a desirable tourist destination to maximize the economic benefit of the greater Minneapolis area.

Meet Minneapolis is accredited by the Destination Marketing Accreditation Program (DMAP) of the Destination Marketing Association International.

Find out more:

Online: www.minneapolis.org and http://go.minneapolis.org

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/meetminneapolis?ref=ts

On Twitter: http://twitter.com/meetminneapolis

On Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/meetminneapolis/

MEDIA CONTACT

Kristen Montag, media communications manager, 612.767.8038, kristenm@minneapolis.org, @Minneapolis_PR on Twitter.