Explore La Crosse is proud to recognize the following businesses, organizations, and individuals at our annual meeting on July 10th. Their contributions to the success of local tourism are greatly appreciated. Congratulations to this year's winners.
Tourism Business of the Year - The Weber Group
Explore La Crosse was proud to present the Weber Group with the Tourism Business of the Year award.. Not only does the Explore La Crosse mission completely align with all that the Weber Group has to offer in the tourism realm, but their partnership and genuine belief in the tourism industry is next to none. To start, we must highlight Stacy Erickson, their Area Director of Sales, as a consistently reliable and enthusiastic liaison between their different entities and Explore La Crosse. She exudes leadership when it comes to promoting the region and continually collaborates with our team to support our mission. It is obvious that the Weber Group supported both tourism and Explore La Crosse in 2022 and we look forward to continuing this partnership in 2023 and beyond. Thank you, truly, to the Weber Group and their team, especially Don Weber, Stacy Erickson and Gusty Favre.
Partner of the Year – Copeland Park & Events Center (Bassmaster Elite Series)
Copeland Park & Events Center, in collaboration with Explore La Crosse, hosted the final tournament of the 2022 Bassmaster Elite Series in a truly unique fashion. Setup on the field and throughout the venue of Copeland Park & Events Center, the event highlighted the venue as well as the area as a premier destination, garnering an impressive attendance of 6,300 over four-days for the weigh-ins and expo. The media coverage showcased the La Crosse Region with an astounding 524,000 streams and more than 14.7 million minutes of live coverage on Fox Sports Network and Bassmaster.com as well as 12.4 million page views. Social media accounts produced the highest performance of impressions and engagements amongst all their events in 2022, with over 15.4 million impressions and 3.1 million video views. This premier experience was unlike any other ever offered by Bassmasters for an Elite Series tournament and truly highlighted the La Crosse Region in the culmination of their 10-event, nation-wide series. The tremendous effort, planning, organizing, and creativity from the staff at Copeland Park & Events Center, made this an incredibly successful event.
Ambassador of the Year - Judy and Rod Rommel
The 2022 Ambassadors of the year joined our volunteer team in early 2022. By Mid summer, "The Rommels" could be found at the Explore La Crosse Lobby Office greeting visitors to the Region, or at the Great River Landing Welcome Center directing visitors to Great River Road Bike Trails, or at the La Crosse Center Kios sharing their knowledge of our historic downtown area, or at Riverside Park greeting the Riverboat passengers, or you might just meet up with them on the road making literature deliveries to our partners. Their dedication to the importance of volunteering and tourism in our region proves that they are deserving of this nomination.
Festival of the Year- Riverfest
Riverfest was founded in 1983 to create a family festival that would include “something for everyone”. July 4th was the magic date that not only celebrated our nation’s birthday but also gave local residents a reason to stay home and invite friends and relatives to come and enjoy the La Crosse region. Although the all-volunteer board and team are passionate about the event, Barb Frahm and Derek Martin go above and beyond year after year volunteering, 25 and 10 years respectively. Their volunteering stems from family and friends who do the same. The enjoyment of seeing families and friends together participating in the festivities is priceless.
Thank you to the entire Riverfest team as you continue to build awareness to encourage La Crosse area residents to realize the beauty of this area and promote our region as a tourism destination.
Tourism Appreciation Award - Kathy Kuderer, Down a County Road
With her passion for decorating and desire to open her own business, and with the help of her family and friends, Kathy Kuderer opened Down A Country Road in the fall of 1993. Kathy had the foresight and understanding that tourism and partnering with Explore La Crosse was important to the success of her new business. Down A Country Road became a member of Explore La Crosse in 1994. Today there are 6 unique Village Shops at Down A Country Road. It remains a key attraction for visitors throughout the Midwest and Explore La Crosse is fortunate to have been her partner since the beginning.
About Explore La Crosse
The La Crosse County Convention and Visitors Bureau builds awareness of the Upper Mississippi Valley region as a global tourism destination. Increasing revenue and stimulating economic development, enhancing visitor spending and overnight stays, will be realized by promoting leisure travel, conventions, sports, and events while highlighting our region’s natural beauty and showcasing the talents of our residents for all communities.
