Town of Massena Supervisor Susan Bellor accepted the 2023 Best Destination Marketing Initiative Award at the St. Lawrence County Tourism Dinner on June 14 in Waddington, joined by the team behind the destination marketing efforts; Don Meissner, Linda McQuinn, Jason Hendricks and Nate Lashomb. Photo submitted by the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce.

WADDINGTON – The Old Town Hall in Waddington was buzzing with conversation, laughter, local craft beverage tastings, celebration, and moments to consider tourism in the County, now and in the future. The annual St. Lawrence County Tourism Dinner, hosted by the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce, was held on June 14 with 70 industry partners in attendance.  

Director of Tourism for the Chamber, Brooke Rouse started the evening with remarks embracing the dinner’s theme of Destination Impact, sharing critical elements to creating a sustainable destination that truly has a long-lasting impact on the people of St. Lawrence County, balancing society, economy, and environment.

Rouse shared an overview of creating a successful destination mix by describing the 7A’s: attractions, accommodations, accessibility, amenities and ancillary services, activities, ambiance and atmosphere, and availability of packages.  

Rouse noted that the role of the Chamber as the Tourism Promotion Agent is a challenging opportunity in the largest County east of the Mississippi, with three somewhat distinct geographic areas – the St. Lawrence River, the valley, and the Adirondack foothills – and no main city hub to anchor marketing. She applauded the work of industry partners and community champions for all of the work that they do year-round to make St. Lawrence County a great place to visit, and encouraged continued partnership in order to promote what they have to offer. 

Rouse also highlighted some upcoming initiatives including a custom booking platform for lodging and experiences that will launch in August on VisitSTLC.com, as well as a plan to pursue a sport tourism strategy that will include traditional and recreational sporting events to fit the scale and character of the area in order to stimulate investment and business growth.  

The highlight of the evening was the annual award recognition. The Sherman Inn (Ogdensburg) was awarded the 2023 ‘Best to the Guest’ Tourism Excellence Award, presented annually to “the individual, business or organization that has provided an excellent guest experience. Customer service, unique offerings, and attention to detail make this awardee stand out in the industry”. 

In addition to rave reviews read to the audience, it was noted that “The Sherman Inn has won Tripadvisor’s Traveler’s Choice Award for three years in a row, ranking among the world’s top 10% with consistent great reviews”. Donna and Jim Reagan, owners of the Sherman Inn, accepted the award and shared a comical retelling of their purchase of the Inn, which reopened under their ownership on Friday, March 13, 2020 “the same day the Canadian border was closed, the World Health Organization declared the pandemic, travel bans were put in place and the world went into hiding,” Jim added that “Business has only improved since then!”.  

The second honor was awarded to Explore Massena & Fish Massena as the 2023 Best Destination Marketing Initiative, which is presented annually to the individual, business or organization that has devised and implemented the most outstanding tourism marketing initiative to raise awareness and attract visitors to St. Lawrence County. “The town of Massena made a concentrated investment several years ago to establish a brand and pursue tourism as a strategic driver of economic development. Their leadership then put together a team to do exactly that! The professional brand created has enabled every marketing initiative to thrive - from social media, to events, to tradeshows and videos – when you see marketing from Massena, you know – it’s Massena!” remarked Ben Dixon, Executive Director of the St. Lawrence County Chamber in his presentation of the award. “Their efforts have attracted unique event opportunities and inspired entrepreneurship”. Town of Massena Supervisor Susan Bellor accepted the award and recognized the team behind the destination marketing efforts; Don Meissner and Linda McQuinn, Fish Massena promotion and grant writing as well as Jason Hendricks and Nate Lashomb; branding, web design, video and photography for Fish Massena and Explore Massena.

Nominations for these annual awards open every Spring, with the dinner in May or June to kick off the summer tourism season. For more information on sharing or promoting tourism in St. Lawrence County, visit the Chamber’s three tourism websites : VisitSTLC.com, STLCtrails.com and Fishcap.net.

Contact Brooke Rouse at brooke@slcchamber.org or at 315-386-4000 to list your tourism business and partner with the Chamber on visitor attraction.