Kentucky Travel Industry Association Cites Lori Saunders as 2022 Member of the Year
December, 2022
GEORGETOWN, KY – DECEMBER 19, 2022 – Lori Cooper Saunders was named KTIA Member of the Year during the Kentucky Travel Industry Association’s annual meeting in November in Lexington, KY.
Saunders is the executive director of the Georgetown/Scott County Tourism Commission, a position she has held since 2016.
“Lori epitomizes a KTIA member of the year,” said KTIA President and CEO Hank Phillips. “She has taken on a multitude of smaller behind-the-scenes projects in support of KTIA and the tourism industry, while also leading initiatives that had major impacts, such as fostering a relationship with Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer that contributed to his leadership in securing a major appropriation for Kentucky's tourism industry.
Kentucky’s only association representing the entirety of the Commonwealth’s travel and tourism industry, KTIA serves the interests of the industry through advocacy, education, information and business development. Members include convention and visitor bureaus, hotels, restaurants, state government agencies, universities, media and industry suppliers.
Each year KTIA honors a member who has provided exemplary service and leadership to the industry and association over the course of the year. Recipients combine a long record of KTIA support with a special year of service.
Calling Saunders “the perfect embodiment of this combination,” Phillips cited her work in Kentucky tourism’s biggest win ever – the $75 million recovery appropriation, part of the American Rescue Plan Act, the COVID-19 economic relief bill President Biden signed into law earlier this year.
The travel and tourism industry was one of the hardest hit by the pandemic, triggering an unprecedented crisis in Kentucky’s tourism economy.
“Undoubtedly a team effort, it was Lori’s relationship with her senator, Senate Majority Leader Damon Thayer, that influenced him to publicly declare early on that he personally was going to ensure there was an ARPA tourism recovery allocation,” said Phillips.
Throughout the legislative process, Saunders maintained contact and encouragement with Senator Thayer and many other legislators and kept KTIA apprised of the bill’s progress.
“In all things, large and small that Lori contributes, she does them with an enthusiasm and commitment that serves as a model for other members,” Phillips noted.
MEDIA CONTACT:
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Georgetown/Scott County Tourism
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PHOTO
Georgetown/Scott County Tourism Executive Director and KTIA Member of the Year Lori Cooper Saunders (center) receives Member of the Year award from KTIA’s Hank Phillips and Chair Katie Fussenegger.
Photo: Georgetown/Scott County Tourism
HI- and LOW-RES photos available.
ABOUT GEORGETOWN, KY | Harness the fun in Georgetown, Kentucky’s Horse Headquarters and Birthplace of Bourbon. Sitting in the midst of Kentucky Horse Country, Georgetown is home of numerous horse-centric attractions – Kentucky Horse Park, Old Friends Thoroughbred Retirement Farm, Saxony Thoroughbred Farm, Whispering Woods Riding Stables, Three Hill Farm Horsemanship Training Experience, Steve Hockensmith Fine Art Gallery and Robert Clark Gallery – and events including the Kentucky Three Day Event, Horsey Hundred, Festival of the Horse and the National Horse Show. A dynamic small town with a beautifully preserved Victorian-era downtown filled with locally-owned shops, restaurants, craft breweries and distilleries, it is home to Toyota Motor Manufacturing Tour; the official Kentucky-Japan Friendship Garden – Yuko-en; Elkhorn Creek; Greek Revival antebellum mansion Ward Hall; a circa 1917 Rosenwald School; Heirlooms & Gretchen’s authentic stained glass shop; and Kentucky Proud farms that play like agricultural theme parks. Accommodations include three dozen unique stays, 17 brand name chain hotels and two campgrounds. www.facebook.com/gotogtown
