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| Bloomington, Minnesota (March 2004) � John F.
Edman, Director of the Minnesota Office of Tourism will receive the 2004
Spirit of Hospitality Award at the 8th Annual Bloomington Diamond Service
Awards to be held March 4, 2004 at the Radisson Hotel South & Plaza
Tower in Bloomington, Minnesota. The event, honoring Bloomington�s finest
hospitality employees, is presented annually by the Bloomington Convention
and Visitors Bureau.
The Spirit of Hospitality Award is presented to an individual who has made a significant contribution to the hospitality and business industry in Minnesota and Bloomington. The Award recognizes John Edman�s dedication to the tourism and hospitality industry at the state and local level, which has helped make Minnesota and Bloomington world-class destinations. In the past three years as Director of the Office of Tourism, Mr. Edman has developed new marketing strategies for Minnesota tourism, created new public and private marketing partnerships, developed the Explore Minnesota Now program and created a new statewide advertising campaign. He has dealt with issues ranging from budget cuts, to state strikes, to the impact of September 11th on the tourism industry, all the while reaching out to the industry to leverage resources, develop partnerships and find new ways to keep the state�s $9 billion tourism industry strong. The eighth annual Diamond Service Awards, presented by the Bloomington
Convention & Visitors Bureau, honored Bloomington�s front-line hospitality
employees who provided exemplary customer service and promoted Bloomington
as a leisure and business destination. The Diamond Service Awards is the
only ceremony of its kind in Minnesota and one of only a few such events
in the United States. Hospitality employees from 17 categories were honored
at the event this year.
Presenting Sponsors for the Diamond Service Awards are Appert�s Foodservice, Graybow Communications, Minnesota Monthly, the Radisson Hotel South & Plaza Tower and Stock Yards Meat Packing Company. The Hospitality industry is Bloomington's number-one industry, employing over 20,000 people in hotels and restaurants, and retail stores, including the Mall of America which last year drew over 40 million visitors. More than a third of the visitors to the Mall of America, the state's top tourism destination, are from outside a 150-mile radius, and 2.5 million of them are international travelers. In addition, more than 30,000 group tours have visited the Mall of America, many of them from countries around the world. |
| Contact:
Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau
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| Also See: | Three New Hotel Developments in the Minneapolis Area Include Large Water Parks / January 2004 |