Tourism Award Winners Named by Visit Saint Paul at 2019 Annual Meeting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 7, 2019

Contact:

Nick Cusick, Marketing & Communications Director

P: 651.265.4907 | C: 651.341.9422 | ncusick@visitsaintpaul.com

SAINT PAUL, Minn. (Oct. 7, 2019) – Visit Saint Paul, the city’s official convention & visitors bureau, recognized five award-winners for supporting travel and tourism during the organization’s annual meeting on Friday, Oct. 4, at the Circus Juventas Big Top in Saint Paul.

Awards were presented to the following:

• ImageTrend Connect as the Conference of the Year. ImageTrend celebrated the 11th anniversary of its annual Connect Conference and the fifth anniversary of hosting the event at Saint Paul RiverCentre. A software company based in Lakeville, Minnesota, ImageTrend’s Connect Conference brings more than 700 attendees and 1,100 room nights annually to Saint Paul’s hotel and restaurant community, with an estimated total economic impact of $800,000.
• Points of Light as the Event of the Year. Points of Light selected Saint Paul for its 2019 conference, bringing together nonprofit, government, business and civic leaders from all around the world to celebrate, learn, network and engage. HandsOn Twin Cities worked closely with Visit Saint Paul to create the best possible experience for attendees. The conference had an estimated economic impact of more than $2 million with 2,000 attendees from 30 countries visiting RiverCentre in June.
• Allianz Field/Minnesota United as the Partner of the Year. The partnership between Allianz Field, Minnesota United and Visit Saint Paul brought Men in Blazers to the Ordway Center for Allianz Field’s opening weekend as well as booking away teams into Saint Paul’s downtown hotels for matches and international friendly competition. The organizations recently co-hosted a familiarization trip of Esports meeting planners as well as toured corporate meeting planners interested in Allianz Field’s event spaces.
• Urban Growler Brewing Company for Member of the Year. Celebrating five years in Saint Paul’s Creative Enterprise Zone, the first woman-owned microbrewery in the state played a key role in bringing the week-long, first-of-its-kind Chroma Zone Mural and Art Festival to life, provided their venue to local mission-driven organization to support work in the community and more. Urban Growler works with Visit Saint Paul’s convention sales team to provide a unique event space, has volunteered at Visit Saint Paul events and has hosted multiple member events including a new hospitality service training workshop in partnership with the University of Minnesota.
• Craig Cohen, Developer and Managing Partner of Keg & Case West 7th Market, for the Hometown Hero award. Each year Visit Saint Paul recognizes a Hometown Hero who has had a substantial impact on Saint Paul's growth as a destination. Cohen’s dedication and work with the community brought his vision for the deteriorated keg house on the historic Schmidt Brewery grounds to life. Opened in September 2018, Keg & Case is a culinary and retail marketplace that houses a combination of chef-driven restaurants, a uniquely curated retail market and a craft brewery. After opening in September 2018, Keg & Case has topped USA Today’s 10Best list of new food halls and was called the hottest new attraction in Saint Paul by the Chicago Tribune.

“This list of award winners demonstrates how exciting the past year has been,” said Terry Mattson, President & CEO of Visit Saint Paul and the Saint Paul RiverCentre. “They are all pieces of our collective success. Congrats to all.”

According to Explore Minnesota’s latest Tourism and the Economy Fact Sheet, the Ramsey County travel and tourism industry provided more than $2 million in direct spending and more than $140 million in state sales taxes in 2017, while employing more than 29,500 people.

Photos from Visit Saint Paul’s annual meeting can be downloaded by going to https://platform.crowdriff.com/m/s-FYfucbmGKKsSSvRe. Please credit Visit Saint Paul for photos.