Yes, you can still find a way to recognize green leadership in these crazy times. In celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day, the Virginia Green Travel Alliance recently announced the winners of the 2019 Virginia Green Travel Star & Leader Awards. These awards are presented annually to Virginia’s greenest tourism operators and partners for their outstanding commitments to sustainability and contributions to green tourism in Virginia. The awards would have been presented in conjunction with the Virginia Green Travel Star Conference but it was postponed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year, 18 Virginia tourism operations were chosen to receive the Virginia Green program’s highest award, the Virginia Green Travel Star Award. Nine additional tourism businesses are being recognized with the Virginia Green Travel Leader Award for their continued commitments to environmental stewardship, and three individuals are receiving the Green Team All-Star Award for their efforts to lead their organizations’ green programs. Lastly, the program has chosen to recognize Laura Wood Habr of Virginia Beach to receive this year’s Green Tourism Industry-Game-Changer Award for her sustained and extraordinary efforts to support green tourism in Virginia.
Each of the award winners is listed below, and summary slides about their individual efforts can be found on the 2019 Virginia Green Travel Star Awards website. The website also includes a link to a congratulatory video from the First Lady of Virginia Pamela Northam.
‘A Valuable Asset to Virginia’
“While this is certainly a very hard time for our industry, we are delighted to recognize these tourism partners for their outstanding achievements,” said Jack Berry, CEO of Richmond Region Tourism and the Board Chairman of the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. “Businesses like these that are committed to sustainable tourism practices will be a valuable asset to Virginia as our industry recovers.”
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 1,900 businesses and partner organizations have voluntarily certified their green business practices through the Virginia Green program.
The 2019 Virginia Green Travel Star Award winners are:
- Green Travel Partner of the Year, Hilton Downtown Richmond;
- Green Attraction of the Year, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond;
- Green Brewery of the Year, Wild Wolf Brewery, Nellysford;
- Green Campground of the Year, Williamsburg KOA;
- Green Caterer of the Year, Full Circle Catering, Lexington;
- Green Conference of the Year, Environment Virginia Symposium, VMI Center for Leadership & Ethics;
- Green Convention Center of the Year, Greater Richmond Convention Center;
- Green Event of the Year, Broad Appetit, Richmond;
- Green Lodging Facility of the Year, Hostelling International Richmond;
- Green Dining Services of the Year, Southside Dining Facility at George Mason University;
- Green Restaurant of the Year, Local Roots A Farm To Table Restaurant;
- Green Supplier of the Year, TFC Recycling, Chesapeake;
- Green Transportation Facility of the Year, Capital Region Airport Commission;
- Most Innovative Green Projects, LTD Hospitality, Virginia Beach;
- Most Innovative Green Projects, Virginia Ecotour Guide Certification Course;
- Most Innovative Green Projects, Virginia Beach Hotel Association;
- Most Innovative Green Projects, Virginia State Parks; and
- Vision 2020 Award, Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond.
The 2019 Virginia Green Travel Leader Award winners are:
- Delta by Marriott Richmond;
- Birdsong Pleasure Garden, Luray;
- Oak Grove Plantation B&B, South Boston;
- Chesapeake Parks, Recreation & Tourism;
- Hoopla Music Festival by Devils Backbone Brewery, Nellysford;
- Peabody’s ‘Hip Little Stay’ B&B, Luray;
- Shadow Mountain Escape, Luray;
- Natural Organic Process Enterprise, Richmond; and
- JMU Dining Services, Harrisonburg.
The 2019 Green Team All-Star Award winners are:
- Brent Beringer, JMU Dining Services;
- Arlie Ritchie, Wild Wolf Brewing Company; and
- Amanda Slaughter, Virginia Tourism Corp.
The 2019 Industry Game-Changer Award winner is:
- Laura Wood Habr, Croc’s 19th Street Bistro, Virginia Beach.
It is hoped that the postponed Virginia Green Travel Conference will be rescheduled soon and that the award winners can be recognized in person at that time. Information on the conference can be found at https://tinyurl.com/qlv2bw3.
