The Patrick County Office of Tourism won multiple awards Tuesday at Friends of Southwest Virginia’s fourth annual Celebrate Tourism Summit.
The Office of Tourism, under the leadership of James Houchins, competed with 19 counties and four independent cities in the Southwest Virginia area.
Patrick County was recognized for the “Best Print Ad” for localities with a marketing budget of at least $50,000 for its wine ad in Virginia Living magazine. The Tourism office also received first-place honors in that same sector for the “Best Magazine Guide.” This was in recognition of the Patrick County Magazine released in the Fall of 2022.
Under the “Excellence in Tourism Leadership” category, Patrick County Tourism’s Grace Cooper was honored as the region’s “Rising Star.”
Primitive Coffee in Meadows of Dan shared the “Outstanding New Tourism Business” award with Marion Outdoors. Primitive Coffee was nominated for the award by the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce.
“James and his office, along with the Tourism Advisory Board, do a tremendous job in helping the rest of the world realize what we have in Patrick County,” said interim County Administrator Tim Hall. “Their work reflects what we are about, and these awards are richly deserved.”
Southwest Virginia tourism professionals submitted more than 90 nominations. Winners were chosen by a panel of tourism industry professionals from across the United States.
“I am pleased to see that the work of our design partners, David Stanley of Silver Lining Design and Rebecca Adcock of the Chamber of Commerce, in collaboration with our staff, has been recognized through these awards. In our Office, we recognize the significant impact of tourism on our state, region, and county. It is a great honor to be acknowledged by our peers for the efforts of Grace, our staff, partners, and myself in showcasing the beauty of Patrick County,” Houchins said.
