GANDER, NL – Adventure Central Newfoundland handed out its annual Bergy Awards during the organization’s annual general meeting in Gander on May 8.
Fred Parsons, a longtime tourism champion in central, received the Tourism Ambassador of the Year Bergy Award.
Experience Twillingate was presented with the Experience of the Year Bergy Award.
The Joint Council of the Eastport Peninsula – comprised of Eastport, Happy Adventure, Salvage, Sandy Cove and Traytown – earned the Municipalities Tourism Champion of the Year Bergy Award.
The Accommodator of the Year Bergy Award, meanwhile, went to the Quality Hotel and Suites.
“We had close to 90 people register for our AGM and we had a waiting list for our Central Rendezvous event, which was held on (May 7),” Adventure Central Newfoundland executive director Shannon Pinsent acknowledged in a press release.
“We had both experienced and new operators from various backgrounds in the tourism industry attend both events, and everyone had an opportunity to network and learn about each other’s business. It’s always great to get so many passionate individuals in the same room.”
Adventure Central Newfoundland is a member-directed Destination Management Organization (DMO), representing the central Newfoundland tourism industry. It is governed by a 12-member volunteer board of directors.
During the meeting, Joelle Blandford of Twillingate and Beyond was elected as a new member of the board.
Cory Abbott of Steele Hotels, Hazel Bishop of the Gander and Area Chamber of Commerce, and Deborah Sharpe of Whitsha Inn B&B were returned by acclamation.