Tourism Awards Scheduled for Arkansas Delta Byways
JONESBORO – The 22nd Annual Arkansas Delta Byways Banquet will be held on Friday, Feb. 16, in West Memphis. Each year, this event is held to recognize those who have outstanding tourism achievements across the 15-county region.
The banquet will be held at the Eugene Woods Civic Center, located at 212 West Polk Ave. in West Memphis.
There will be a silent auction and social hour that will showcase items from around the Arkansas Delta at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 7 p.m. The presentation of the awards will follow.
Arkansas Delta Byways, located on the Arkansas State University campus, is a nonprofit organization recognized by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism as the official tourism promotion association for 15 counties in Eastern Arkansas. Counties include Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Greene, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett and St. Francis.
Tickets to the dinner are $35 per person, a table for eight is $250. Those interested in attending can register for the banquet online. Tickets are available online bit.ly/ADBBanquet2024.The deadline to reserve a ticket online is Friday, Feb. 9. Tickets can be purchased the night of the banquet by cash, check, credit or debit card.
Those who would like to donate items to the silent auction to have their community represented, please contact Brandy Oliver via email at brandy.oliver@arkansas.gov. Items can also be brought on the night of the event before 5 p.m.
The 2023 Delta Award Nominees are as follows:
Hospitality Award
Jonesboro Shooting Sports Complex
Kamp Karefree
Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce and Stuttgart Rotary Club
Entrepreneur Award
Blue Awning Art Gallery
Delta Dirt Distillery
One Stop Candy Shop
Tourism Support/Promotional Award
Courier Index
Lakewoods Trails
Lawrence Group
Festival/Event of the Year
Blues Off Broadway
Helena A & P Big River, Big Fish, Big Fun!
Sunken Lands Songwriting Circle
Boot Strap Award
Main Street Blytheville
McGehee Firefighters Memorial Park
Mrs. Vernie’s Food and Beverage
Cultural Heritage Award
Central Delta Depot Museum
Forrest City Downtown Community Art Alley
Paragould’s “The Station” Power Plant Revitalization
Tourism Person of the Year
To be announced at the banquet
For questions concerning the banquet or online registration, contact Penny Toombs at ptoombs@AState.edu.
