[OMS_MANAGERS] FW: Travel Oregon Announces 2025 Travel & Tourism Industry Achievement Awards

Wed Mar 11 11:33:13 PDT 2026

Congratulations!

With Gratitude,

[image: Jenn Hackman]

[image: photo]

Jennifer Hackman
Executive Director, Klamath Falls Downtown Association

541-539-6212  |  www.downtownklamathfalls.org

Jennifer at downtownklamathfalls.org

205 Riverside Dr. Suite F, Klamath Falls, OR 97601
<https://maps.google.com/?q=205 Riverside Dr. Suite F, Klamath Falls, OR
97601>

Become a downtown partner today!

www.downtownklamathfalls.org/join-us-today

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On Wed, Mar 11, 2026 at 9:22 AM HENRY Katie * OPRD <
Katie.HENRY at oprd.oregon.gov> wrote:

> Hello OMS folks!
>
>
>
> We have some big news! On Monday, Oregon Main Street was honored during
> the 2025 Travel & Tourism Industry Achievement Awards with the Prosperity
> Award. The awards event was part of the 2026 Oregon Governor’s Conference
> on Tourism coordinated by Travel Oregon.
>
>
>
> I was so honored to accept the award as a representative of Oregon
> Heritage, but really, the whole network should have been on stage. This
> award is a testament to the impact all of your work has on making your
> communities welcoming to visitors and the many ways in which you support
> local businesses and make your downtown a place residents and visitors want
> to visit, experience, and enjoy. This work matters, there is just no way
> around that, and it was great to see it recognized by Travel Oregon and the
> tourism industry leaders and network in Oregon.
>
>
>
> A big thank you to the Main Street folks attending the conference and
> helped fill the table we unexpectedly had and a GIANT thank you to
> Stephanie who I dragged on stage with me as I know she has been hard at
> work promoting the 2027 OMS conference in North Bend.
>
>
>
> Below is the Travel Oregon announcement but you can view the video
> directly here:
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUlcQnksBu8&list=PL5ORWChxC6rxBQfCogYOYs8IVoNBMJTAU&index=3&pp=iAQB
>
>
>
> Thank you for all you do, thank you to Ami for joining the team/family to
> help continue this awesome work, and YAY Oregon Main Street!
>
>
>
> Katie
>
>
>
>
>
> *Katie Henry **(she, her, hers) *|  Oregon Heritage Commission Coordinator
>
> *________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________*
>
> Oregon Heritage, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department
> Oregon Heritage Commission
> Cell: (503) 877-8834
> 725 Summer St NE, Ste C
> Salem, Oregon 97301
>
>
> Visit our *website <http://www.oregonheritage.org/>*, Like us on *Facebook
> <https://www.facebook.com/OregonHeritage>*, Visit our *Blog
> <http://oregonheritage.wordpress.com/>*, Join the Oregon Heritage News *e-news
> <https://omls.oregon.gov/mailman/listinfo/Heritage>*.
>
> *From:* Travel Oregon <industry at traveloregon.com>
> *Sent:* Tuesday, March 10, 2026 12:42 PM
> *To:* GILL Kuri * OPRD <kuri.gill at oregon.gov>
> *Subject:* Travel Oregon Announces 2025 Travel & Tourism Industry
> Achievement Awards
>
>
>
>
>
> *March 10, 2026 *
>
>                                *Photo by Andie Petkus Photography*
>
>
>
>
> *Travel Oregon Announces 2025 Travel & Tourism Industry Achievement
> Awards at the 2026 Oregon Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Portland*
>
> *Oregon Coast Travelability takes home the Governor’s Award as catalyst
> for a statewide initiative to promote and improve accessible tourism*
>
> On Monday, March 9, 2026, the Oregon Tourism Commission (dba Travel
> Oregon) announced the recipients of the 2025 Oregon Travel and Tourism
> Industry Achievement Awards at the 2026 Oregon Governor’s Conference on
> Tourism at the Oregon Convention Center. Hosted by Travel Oregon, in
> partnership with Travel Portland, the Governor’s Conference is an
> educational and interactive learning and networking experience that
> elevates the diversity of voices of those that collectively make Oregon a
> welcoming destination for all. More than 600 tourism industry professionals
> gather for the event to share best practices and align to ensure not only
> the delivery of exceptional visitor experiences, but that tourism improves
> quality of life for residents, advances equity, respects the diversity of
> ecosystems, cultures and places of Oregon and strengthens economic
> resilience for communities around the state.
>
> *The Governor’s Award: Oregon Coast Travelability *
> The Governor’s Award represents the culmination of our industry’s deep
> appreciation for the service and accomplishments of an individual or
> individuals who have enhanced the Oregon visitor experience and elevated
> the travel and tourism industry.
>
> Travel Oregon CEO Todd Davidson was on hand to honor Oregon Coast
> Travelability—a coastwide, cross-sector collaboration working to make the
> Oregon Coast a more accessible place to live, work, and visit for people
> with disabilities—with the 2025 Governor’s Award. Launched in 2022 by a
> small group of inspired coastal tourism partners, the coalition has grown
> into a powerful model of collaboration among tourism professionals,
> disability advocates, local governments, nonprofit entities and businesses.
>
> To date, the group has helped secure more than $1.3 million in Travel
> Oregon grant funding for accessibility projects across the coast, funding
> accessibility verifications by Wheel the World, an online travel platform
> that helps disabled travelers make informed travel decisions, as well as
> high-impact projects including accessible tidepool touch tanks at the
> Oregon Coast Aquarium, an accessible trolley in Yachats, signage on the
> Coos Bay Boardwalk highlighting the three Tribes indigenous to the area, an
> inclusive playground in Lincoln City and expanded accessibility assessments.
>
> “The work of Oregon Coast Travelability was the catalyst for a statewide
> effort to remove barriers to access for visitors with disabilities,” said
> Davidson. “In 2025, Oregon became the first state to be Accessibility
> Verified in partnership with Wheel the World; and though the statewide
> effort was led by Travel Oregon it was fueled by the momentum, innovation
> and passionate commitment of this dedicated cross-sector coalition. Their
> innovative spirit and commitment to collaboration toward this work truly
> knows no equal.”
>
> *Oregon Marketing Award:* *Travel Portland*
> The Oregon Marketing Award celebrates the best integrated domestic or
> international overall marketing program or campaign that attracted visitors
> to Oregon.
>
> This year’s Oregon Marketing Award goes to the PR team at Travel Portland,
> who, in 2025, launched a strategic communications campaign to elevate
> awareness of Portland as America’s Literary Capital. Their work on the
> unique and innovative Golden Bookmark campaign promoted Portland as the
> literary haven that it is and successfully captured the interest of
> potential visitors in five literary-minded cities across the country. The
> team partnered with Little Free Library to hide Golden Bookmarks specially
> made by Orox Leather Co. in Little Free Libraries across the country and
> with one literary and travel minded content creator in each of the five
> target markets to travel to Portland and tell the tale of the city’s
> literary scene to their followers. The content not only focused on
> Portland’s independent bookstores but also announced the search for the
> Golden Bookmark in their city.
>
> *Oregon Prosperity Award*: *Oregon Main Street Statewide Coordinating
> Program *
> The Oregon Prosperity Award recognizes DMOs or businesses championing the
> value of tourism, whose vision and commitment help make Oregon's
> communities, tourism regions and state stronger visitor destinations,
> creating optimal economic impact.
>
> Oregon Main Street Statewide Coordinating Program has offered a unifying
> model for community revitalization in 100+ towns statewide since 2008.
> Since then, Main Street’s tenets of promotion, organizational support,
> design and economic vitality with a historic preservation lens, have
> activated and reactivated communities of all sizes, in every county of
> Oregon. As of 2021, the work of the Oregon Main Street program and partner
> organizations have resulted in $134.6 million total economic impact while
> offering free technical services for local programs, revitalizing downtowns
> and awarding millions of dollars in grants to communities across the state.
>
> *Oregon Equity Award: Oregon Black Pioneers*
> The Equity Award is presented to a business or destination that has
> demonstrated leadership in raising awareness or facilitating change to
> build a more inclusive and welcoming environment for visitors to Oregon.
>
> Oregon Black Pioneers has earned the Oregon Equity Award and well-deserved
> recognition for their outstanding leadership in advancing equity through
> storytelling, education, and cultural preservation of Oregon’s Black
> communities. From their innovative work in partnership with the tourism
> community to elevate Oregon’s Black history to the statewide Black History
> Walking Tours, York Fest and their celebration of Black-owned businesses,
> Oregon Black Pioneers exemplifies what it means to advance equity through
> heritage. Their work uplifts underrepresented histories, deepens cultural
> understanding, and helps create a more inclusive Oregon for all.
>
> *Oregon Stewardship Award: Local Ocean*
> The Stewardship Award recognizes an activity, event, project or program
> that utilizes a stewardship approach to positively impact Oregon’s economy,
> cultures and natural environment.
>
> The winner of the Oregon Stewardship Award, Local Ocean has always been a
> leader in the coastal food ecosystem—and in 2025, they took bold,
> innovative steps toward pioneering a resilient coastal food web. Within
> months of last year’s Blue Foods Forum, Local Ocean launched a 100 percent
> fish utilization program to reduce waste at their restaurant, transforming
> what once might have been discarded into delicious, purposeful products.
> This year, they created a position for a Business Innovation Specialist to
> lead the development of their new seafood byproducts, which will transform
> processing side-streams into high-value products that drive revenue and
> sustainability and help drive Local Ocean’s mission of becoming the first
> 100% Fish restaurant in the U.S.
>
> *The Gene Landsmann Gemütlichkeit Award: Colleen Dougherty*
> The Gene Landsmann Gemütlichkeit Award honors an individual of the Oregon
> Ski Community (Industry/Sport) who embodies the spirit and effect of
> Gemütlichkeit. A German-language word used to convey the idea of a state or
> feeling of warmth, friendliness and good cheer. Other qualities encompassed
> by the term include coziness, quality of life and a sense of belonging and
> well-being.
>
> This year’s winner, Colleen Dougherty of Oregon Adaptive Sports, is a
> shining example of gemütlichkeit within the Oregon ski community. For over
> three decades she has dedicated her energy, warmth and leadership to
> ensuring that skiing is a place of belonging for all. As a co-founder of
> Oregon Adaptive Sports in 1996 and a board member since, Colleen has worked
> tirelessly to open the mountains to people with disabilities, cultivating a
> culture of inclusivity, good cheer and possibility on snow. Her personal
> journey as an adaptive athlete, competing as a Paralympic swimmer, then
> embracing skiing, cycling and outdoor recreation as a wheelchair user, has
> inspired countless others to pursue their own passions. Through her
> unwavering advocacy, her personal warmth and her infections enthusiasm for
> skiing and community, Colleen Dougherty has made Oregon’s slopes a place
> where everyone can feel at home.
>
> *Oregon Tourism Rising Star Award: Fiona Wylde (Wylde Wind & Water) *
> The Rising Star Award is presented to an individual who is new to the
> tourism industry within the last five years in which time they have shown
> exemplary leadership, commitment and passion for Oregon’s tourism
> industry. This year, Travel Oregon chose one Rising Star from statewide
> submissions.
>
> This year’s Tourism Rising Star goes to Fiona Wylde, the founder of Wylde
> Wind & Water, a multifaceted organization creating equitable access to
> water sports programs in the Columbia River Gorge. A professional water
> sports athlete with world titles in stand-up paddleboard (SUP), windsurfing
> and wing foiling, Fiona is passionate about the health, mental and
> environmental benefits of recreating safely on the water. Paid internships
> with teens in Hood River County School District’s Migrant Education program
> helps create a skilled and diverse water sports workforce. Fiona was
> recently appointed by Governor Tina Kotek to serve on the Oregon State
> Marine Board; her free community SUP and wing foiling summer programs
> attract tourists from all over the region and the world; and her fee-based
> youth wing-foiling programs teams and camps serve children from all over
> the region.
>
> Watch the award videos here
> <https://t.e2ma.net/click/53p54r/x162xs/9624g1e>.
>
>
>
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> Contact Travel Oregon at: 971-717-6205 <9717176205> or by email
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