Cincinnati USA's April Familiarization Tour

It was beautiful day for a Fam Tour, short for Familiarization Tour, a key component of Cincinnati USA's marketing campaign designed to give meeting planners a taste of the Queen City in a 24 hour period.

Every tour begins with a dinner at one of Cincinnati's premier restaurants, Pigalls, where the host is the master chef himself, Jean Robert. Over fine French cuisine the guests can chat with some of Cincinnati's hotel managers, event specialists, and Cincinnati USA staff.

Dan Lincoln, CEO of Cincinnati USA CVB, addresses the guests,
welcoming them and giving them a brief overview of what they could expect
today.

This is dessert, French dessert. I have no idea what it is called
(if you do, please let me know), but it looks sumptuous.

After lunch the guests boarded a luxury bus to take a two-hour tour of the city, which included downtown landmarks, Mt. Adams, Newport and Covington.

The tour guide was the incomparable Harriet, who always has
wonderful little stories about Cincinnati to share with the guests. If you look
closely, you can see her in the mirror at the back of the bus.

After two hours sitting on a tour bus, the folks were famished. Skyline Chili was the next stop.

There to greet them was Mayor Mark Mallory.

The Mayor and Dan Lincoln talk about Cincinnati and answer any
questions the meeting planners had.

The guests being new to the whole Skyline experience, Dan and the Mayor explain
the difference between a 4-way and 5-way with beans or onions.

The verdict: all the guests gave it a thumbs up.

Before parting, the Mayor posed with the group.

After an hour's rest, the entourage began their progressive dinner with cocktails at the Duke Energy Center. From there they made their way to the Cincinnati Art Museum for salad. The evening concluded with dinner and dessert at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Now think about this: they began at noon with an 1 1/2 hour 5-course lunch at Pigalls, then Skyline Chili at 4:00, and a progressive dinner beginning at 6:00. More in 24 takes on a whole new meaning.

The Cincinnati Art Museum

The Cincinnati Museum Center

Carla Ballard of Cincinnati USA poses with meeting planners from the Department
of Education.

This was another very successful Fam Tour. The Cincinnati USA team and the member sponsors are all working hard to cultivate an excitement amongst meetings planners for Cincinnati as their meeting destination.

2nd Annual CSPN Awards Ceremony

The 2nd Annual CSPN Awards Ceremony was held last night, April 9, 2008, in the beautiful Hall of Mirrors of the Hilton Netherland Plaza. The ceremony recognizes key individuals in the Cincinnati sports market. The guest speaker was the Hall of Famer Gale Sayers.

Prior to the event a VIP reception was held in one of the salons:

Mr. Sayers meets with some of the VIPs

The LaRosa brothers, Mark and Michael

Mr. and Mrs. Dennison, parents of Bill "Seg" Dennison, radio personality.

The award recipients gather for a group shot before heading out to the banquet to be publicly recognized for their incredible contributions to the sports industry in Cincinnati.

Mr. Sayers and his wife were presented the key to the city by Councilman David Crowley.

The VIPs moved to the Hall of Mirrors where the banquet was held. It was a well-attended event:

Leslie Spencer, Executive Director of the Greater Cincinnati Sports Corporation.

Wayne Box Miller, radio personality of 1230 WBDZ the Buzz, was the emcee, who kept things moving with his great humor. Check out his MySpace page and blog.

Todd Portune, County Commissioner, offered some remarks.

Mr. Sayers gave the keynote address and, at the end, answered some questions from the audience. Everyone listened intently as he shared his experiences on the field and in life.

The guests of honor were recognized:

Sports Executive Life Time Achievement: Northern Kentucky University athletic director Jane Meier

Corporate Citizen of the Year: Buddy LaRosa (Michael LaRosa accepts the award for his father who was unable to attend)

Sports Executive of the Year: Miami RedHawks hockey coach Enrico Blasi

Sports Event of the Year: Bengals vs. Ravens Monday Night Football & UFC Championship

Event of the Year: Bengals vs. Ravens Monday Night Football & UFC Championship

Sports Media Personality of the Year: WLW's Bill "Seg" Dennison

Story of the Year: UC's football team

CSPN Scholarship Recipient: NKU's Michael Mertle

The evening finisehd out with Mr. Sayers signing his book for his fans.

Mr. Sayers said at some point during his talk that he was surprised that after 30 plus years he still had fans, given that his career was cut short due to an injury. That he still does have fans is a testament to the character of this man.