By Laura Schmidt ~Discover Long Island’s Second AnnualTourism Awards Gala welcomed tourism industry leaders and newcomers tocelebrate another successful year and praise those who went above and beyond topush the industry forward.
At the Fox Hollow in Woodbury, Discover Long Island’sPresident and CEO Kristen Jarnagin, referred to as “our very own Long IslandSuperwoman,” welcomed a room full of tourism enthusiasts to look back at aneconomically successful year and present impactful organizations with awardssuch as Partner of the Year, Industry Advancement, Tourism Trailblazer andTourism Legacy.
Before awards were presented, Jarnagin took time toacknowledge the positive impact tourism has on Long Island. In 2018, thetourism industry created 81,707 jobs, welcomed more than nine million visitorsand generated $722,000,000 million in tax revenue while promoting the regionand small businesses alike. Since Jarnagin joined the team, she has expandedthe vision of tourism for Long Island to include the hidden treasure of FireIsland. Laura Mercogliano, Board member of Discover LI and co-owner of thispublication, along with several other FI businesses, is excited to have a frontrow seat to see this relationship continue to grow.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of Discover LI and withit came “a year filled with firsts,” according to Jarnagin, throughgroundbreaking partnerships and nationally recognized achievements, includingwinning Best Branding and Innovative Marketing Campaign in the country fromU.S. Travel Association, which Jarnagin said is “like the Oscar’s of the travelindustry.”
Before the ceremony kicked off, Nassau County Executive LauraCurren and Suffolk County Chief of Staff Lisa Black, who stepped in for SuffolkExecutive Steve Bellone, exchanged in some light-hearted banter about thewonderful destinations each county has to offer.
News 12 reporter and anchor Elisa DiStefano announced each award beginning with the Industry Advancement Award that was presented to the Hospitality and Tourism Management Program at St. Joseph’s College. Accepting the award was Instructor of Hospitality and Tourism Management Tina Ferro.
“We educate to advance our knowledge but no advancement canbe maintained without hard work so I thank my colleagues,” Ferro said. “Ourprogram has grown from the collaborative effort provided by all theorganizations and industry professionals that are actually in this roomtonight.”
Ferro went on to thank Jarnagin and her team at Discover LIfor the education, mentorship and guidance to continue the program.
Partner of the Year Award went to Long Island MacArthurAirport for its collaboration with Discover LI in creating Short Flight LongIsland, which provides convenient, non-stop flights from MacArthur toBaltimore, Philadelphia, Fort Lauderdale, Atlanta and more cities.
Accepting the award was Airport Commissioner ShelbyLaRose-Arken, Deputy Commissioner and Director of Operations Rob Schneider andTown of Islip Supervisor Angie Carpenter.
LaRose-Arkin emphasized the importance of partnership in theindustry and gave thanks to the efforts made by Discover LI to combinestrategies and ideas to create a harmonious collaboration and campaign tofurther promote Long Island.
“It seems so fitting that the award the airport has receivedis the Partner Award because the only way we’re going to advance this region isto do it in partnership,” Carpenter said.
The Tourism Trailblazer Award was given to Nassau VeteransMemorial Coliseum for its recent renovations that created opportunities forgrowth in the tourism community. The reopening of Long Island’s 14,500-seatcoliseum has brought a resurgence to Nassau County. The Coliseum hostsworld-class entertainment through musical performances from Paul McCartney toBruno Mars to choreographed shows on ice. It was also a catalyst to bringingthe New York Islanders back home for 21 regular season games.
The evening concluded with the Tourism Legacy Award presentedto former Newsday travel guide producer, writer, editor and photographer RobertLipper for his dedication to Long Island tourism over the last 30 years. Lipperhas published many tourism and business economic development magazines andguides about the Nassau and Suffolk region including the LI Travel Guide. Nowretired, Lipper is a knowledgeable tour guide and each summer is a tourismambassador at the Taste NY Long Island Welcome Center where he interacts withvisitors and helps make suggestions of places to go and things to see on theisland.
A video made by close friends and colleagues painted Lipperas a dedicated, passionate, detail-oriented man with a deep love for all thingsLong Island. Deemed a “walking encyclopedia” in the video more than once, Lipperremained humble in his acceptance speech, thanking all those who helped himalong the way.
“I created a bunch of guides including the travel guide butit’s a team effort,” Lipper said. “I didn’t do it alone.”
Lipper went on to thank his wife Barb and past partners atNewsday before turning to thank the audience filled with people who shared thesame passion he has.
“You folks made [promoting Long Island] so easy with yourgreat hotels, your great attractions, your great museums, your greatrestaurants and your great parks,” he said. “They’re wonderful. It makespromoting Long Island so easy because of the great jobs you did. Thank you.”
Discover LI closed out another prosperous year and looksforward to 2019 with new ideas and campaigns ahead. Jarnagin announced that anew creative advertising campaign is in the works that will “redefine LongIsland as a destination for visitors.” She also mentioned a first-timecollaboration between Discover LI, New York City and the LI Railroad as well asnew virtual reality assets throughout the island.
“It’s really a privilege to have this position and as greatas 2018 was for our organization, we’re already looking ahead, and we’re happyto have more in store for you in 2019,” Jarnagin said.
