RICHMOND, VA.—On April 25, the Virginia Green program presented the Virginia Green Travel Star Award to 19 Virginia tourism operations for their outstanding commitments to sustainability and contributions to green tourism at the 6th annual Virginia Green Travel Conference and Travel Star Awards Celebration. Five additional tourism businesses were recognized and received the Virginia Green Travel Leader Award, and three individuals received the Green Team All-Star Award for their outstanding efforts. Finally, one individual was recognized for his career efforts to support green tourism and received he Industry Game-Changer Award.
The conference was held on April 24 to 25, 2019 at the Hotel Madison & Shenandoah Valley Conference Center. It featured educational workshops, speakers and panels, and a green tourism business expo. Speakers on the first day included First Lady of Virginia Pamela Northam and keynote speaker Shawn Norton of the National Park Service. The second day featured sustainability efforts in the Shenandoah Valley and the 2018 Virginia Green Travel Awards hosted by Rita McClenny, President & CEO of Virginia Tourism Corporation and local meteorologist Aubrey Urbanowicz.
The Virginia Green program is supported through a partnership between the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Tourism Corp., the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Assn., and the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. The program encourages green practices in all sectors of Virginia’s tourism industry. More than 1,800 businesses and partner organizations have voluntarily certified their green business practices through the Virginia Green program.
The 2018 Virginia Green Travel Star Award winners are:
- Green Travel Partner of the Year, Wild Wolf Brewing Company, Nellysford
- Green Attraction of the Year, Birdsong Pleasure Garden, Luray
- Green B&B of the Year. Inn at Riverbend, Pearisburg
- Green Brewery of the Year, Coelacanth, Norfolk
- Green Caterer of the Year, Full Circle Catering, Lexington
- Green Convention Center of the Year, Virginia Beach Convention Center
- Green Event of the Year, Blacks Run Clean-Up, Harrisonburg
- Green Hotel of the Year, Doubletree by Hilton Virginia Beach
- Green Dining Services, JMU Dining Services, Harrisonburg
- Green Supplier of the Year, Yuck Old Paint, LLC, Vienna
- Green Supplier of the Year, Sysco Virginia, Harrisonburg
- Green Vacation Rental of the Year, Sandswept, Virginia Beach
- Green Winery of the Year, Delaplane Cellars, Delaplane
- Most Innovative Green Projects, Civil War Trails, Williamsburg
- Most Innovative Green Projects, BF Saul Company Hospitality Group
- Most Innovative Green Projects, Nauticus, Norfolk
- Most Innovative Green Projects, Kiptopeke State Park
- Most Innovative Green Projects, Grayson Highlands State Park
- Most Innovative Green Projects, RIC—Capitol Region Airport Commission
The 2018 Virginia Green Travel Leader Award winners are:
- Back INN Time, Kilmarnock
- Oak Grove Plantation B&B, South Boston
- Mountain Song Inn, Willis
- Shady Acres B&B, Hanover
- Port City Brewing Company, Alexandria
The 2018 Green Team All-Star Award winners are:
- Danny Wolf, Wild Wolf Brewing Company
- Perry DeMay, Virginia State Parks
- Rehn West, Nauticus
The 2018 Industry Game-Changer Award winner is:
- Kurt Burkhart, formerly with Charlottesville-Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau
The full conference agenda and other details can be found at www.tinyurl.com/y3awevrs. If you would like more information, contact Tom Griffin of the Virginia Green Travel Alliance at (804) 986-9119 or VirginiaGreen@Virginia.org.
