NATCHEZ - Suzy Gordon Johnson and the rest of the folks at the Greenwood Convention & Visitors Bureau have won CVB of the year for the second year in a row.
The award was announced Tuesday afternoon at the annual Governor's Conference on Tourism held at the Natchez Convention Center. Greenwood captured the award in the budget category of $250,000-$500,000.
In everyday language, that means Johnson and company have to do a lot with a little. It's the smallest budget category of convention and visitors bureaus in the state.
With its $350,000 this year, 53 percent of that is paid media, meaning advertisers pay to place their messages for strategic public consumption.
"I'm very proud of that," Johnson said.
And to take the award a second consecutive year, well, "that's not real common for that to happen," said Johnson.
She accepted the award from Craig Ray, director of the Mississippi Development Authority's Tourism Division.
The awards program recognized outstanding contributions to the advancement of Mississippi tourism by individuals and organizations of the 250-member Mississippi Tourism Association.
The award is a feather in the city's cap, meaning that the CVB is doing good work and on the right track, Johnson explained.
For her staff of two full-time and three part-time employees, and board of directors, the award says they're outstanding, she added.
And for Johnson, it means she's leading the CVB in the direction it needs to be going.
That's evident by the 17.1 percent increase in revenue the CVB received from January through September of 2005, compared to the same span of time in 2004.
This year, Johnson and her team launched a new media campaign that featured dogs, putting them in various scenarios of interest to visitors.
For example, one advertisement, "Treat Yourself" appeared in the Mississippi Tour Guide. It showed various "Polaroids" of a dog's trip to Greenwood, including shopping, going to the spa, and going to restaurants, museums and enjoying the Delta blues.
The advertising might draw folks to Greenwood, but it's the good times that keep them coming back, Johnson said.
The CVB urges people to come to Greenwood to relax. And so far the pitch has been successful. "We give new meaning to 'relaxed,'" she said.
