CANTON - This year’s St. Lawrence County Tourism Awards Dinner, set Wednesday, June 12 in Canton, is proud to feature awards to two exemplary tourism entities.

The ‘Best to the Guest’ Tourism Excellence award recognizes a business or organization who shows ‘commitment to an excellent guest experience, customer service, unique offerings, and attention to detail, which brings pride to St. Lawrence County’. The award is chosen based on nominations and reviews from Facebook, TripAdvisor, Google, and Yelp. This year’s award will honor Otto’s Abode in Wanakena, New York.

Owned by Nolan and Hannah Fedorow, Otto’s Abode is a hub for community members and visitors alike, operating as a rustic yet modern general store and local art gallery as well as offering maps, guides, gifts, supplies, and especially local tips and advice for exploring and experiencing the Adirondack foothills.

A second award for ‘Best Destination Marketing Initiative’ recognizes the effort to implement an outstanding tourism marketing initiative raising awareness and attracting visitors to St. Lawrence County. This year, the award recognizes the tremendous work by SLC Arts to creatively and professionally brand and market the North Country Arts Festival.

The SLC Arts Council offers programming in support of local arts, including their county-wide festival each year that showcases and promotes local artists throughout the area in a way that celebrates our vibrant arts scene.

“We had some really great nominations this year, and we are excited to share the news about our recipients,” said Tiffani Amo, Director of Tourism. “This year’s programming is all about the bigger picture when it comes to tourism, and both of our awardees are an embodiment of that concept. There is a special commitment and quality that they bring forth with their efforts that radiates outward and sets an authentic example of what local efforts with a tourism mindset can look like.”

The Tourism Awards Dinner, on Wednesday, June 12, is being held this year at the Best Western University Inn in Canton, beginning at 6:30pm with networking and live music followed by a buffet dinner beginning at 7:30pm. The dinner is open to community leaders and tourism industry partners, businesses, and interested parties. The theme of the dinner this year is 'Sustainability, Education, and Engagement' and will feature a keynote speaker on sport tourism, a grant-funded strategy underway now in St. Lawrence County.

Reservations can still be made by calling the St. Lawrence County Chamber of Commerce at 315-386-4000, or by going online to www.SLCchamber.org.