BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) has announced it will present its most prestigious award again this year to a distinguished Caribbean national or person of Caribbean heritage.
The region’s tourism development agency is seeking nominations for its Lifetime Achievement Award to be presented at the 36th annual Governments of the Caribbean State Ball in June.
“The Caribbean is known for producing some of the brightest and best high performance professionals, and the CTO Lifetime Achievement Award is to recognise those professionals whose careers have truly made a difference to the Region,” said Sylma Brown-Bramble, the CTO’s acting Director of Marketing for the Americas.
“The Award is not limited to service directly in the tourism industry, but for service in any ancillary industry that supports tourism and brings continuous positive recognition to the Caribbean,” Brown-Bramble added.
This year’s honoree will join a list of prominent figures to receive the CTO Lifetime Achievement Award, including: Harry Belafonte; Sidney Poitier; Cicely Tyson; New York Congressman Charles Rangel; American Airlines executive, Peter Dolara; former Barbados Tourism Minister, Billie Miller; the former West Indies cricketer, Wes Hall, Professor Rex Nettleford and the organization’s first Secretary General, Jean Holder.
In addition, the CTO will present its Special Recognition Award at the Ball, which will be held at the Plaza Hotel in New York City on 12 June, 2009. This award also honours individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the region.
The Governments of the Caribbean State Ball is an elegant, black-tie event that was inaugurated in 1973 as a fundraiser to help market the Caribbean. However, its charitable purposes have expanded to include the provision of scholarships for Caribbean nationals to become leaders in Caribbean Tourism.
The Ball, which has always featured the best of Caribbean entertainment and food, will cap a series of events during Caribbean Week, June 10-12, 2009 in New York City. Caribbean Week will be preceded by the Annual Caribbean Tourism Summit (ACTS) in Washington from on June 8 and 9.
For further information on the CTO Lifetime Achievement Award and the Special Recognition Award, as well as nomination forms, please visit www.onecaribbean.org or contact the CTO New York office [email protected], or by mail to CTO-USA, Inc., Awards Nominations, 80 Broad Street, Suite 3200, New York, NY 10004. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday 27 March, 2009.
