From staff reports
The Oil Region Alliance of Business, Industry and Tourism has announced the winners of the inaugural Oil Region Tourism Awards.
There were eight categories for awards with several nominees in each category.
“After more than a year of canceled events and limited activities, we wanted the people of the Oil Region to focus on all the fantastic things our area has to offer,” said Emily Altomare, the ORA communications and tourism manager.
The winners were:
Best dish — Italian sub from Villa Italia Restaurant, Oil City
Best drink — Peanut butter milkshake from Villa Italia Restaurant, Oil City
Best guest room — Caboose Motel, Titusville
Best shop — Cross & Co. Boutique, Seneca
Best advocate — Ashley Zaccari Smith
Best industry partner — Be Here
Best ‘must do’ activity — Bike trails throughout the area
Winners in attendance were awarded a certificate and sign and given an opportunity to address the crowd from the podium.
The awards presentation along with the entire ORA annual meeting last month will be available to stream online, Altomare said. It also will be broadcast on local cable television, she said.
The public was invited to make nominations for the eight categories via the ORA Facebook page during May in conjunction with National Travel and Tourism Week. Once nominees were established, voting ran online from June through August. The contest received votes from 1,038 people.
Voters who included their names and addresses were eligible to win an Oil Region National Heritage Area T-shirt. Shelby Daugherty of Titusville won the shirt.
“We’re very pleased with the participation we had this first year of the tourism awards,” Altomare said. “We plan to run the contest again next year, with a call for nominees going out in May and voting to begin again in June.”
