Redbud Awards—

Yes, we are proud and brag, but we also want to thank 701Corp.com who took our ideas and the vision we had in our heads and made it work. To our families who had to live with us while we changed, corrected, read out loud, discussed and then changed it again. To the inventor of Post-It –Notes, yep, that is how we organized our content and buttons---everything we wanted we wrote on separate Post Its, then organized them into file folders representing the pull downs (buttons).

Our website is the hub or our social media, where we can refer customers to find everything about us and even where we can check on ourselves. We feel the way we set it up makes it easy to look around and explore from our Bistro menu, to wine terms. Please check it out for yourself at Summersidevineyards.com.

Helping to make tourism in Oklahoma better, and then to put it in a format to be judged can only help us to improve.

Watch out because  in 2013 we, at Summerside are planning a clean sweep of all Redbud Awards, oh yea, a clean sweep. OK, maybe we will not win them all but there are things we know we could be doing better---so, let the games for 2013 begin.

OKLAHOMA TOURISM & RECREATION DEPARTMENT

NEWS RELEASE

May 9, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Sandy Pantlik

Phone: 405-230-8402 or 405-990-4054 (cell)

Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

(Photos of Redbud award and merit winners are available upon request.)

2012 Redbud Awards Honor Oklahoma's Top Tourism Entities

(Oklahoma City, Okla.) – Oklahoma's top tourism attractions, events, programs and organizations were honored during the annual Redbud Awards held Tuesday, May 8 in Oklahoma City. The awards represent the highest honor given in the Oklahoma tourism industry.

Lt. Gov. Todd Lamb and Discover Oklahoma television show host Jenifer Reynolds presented awards to 32 winners during a special evening gala held at the Oklahoma History Center.

More than 100 Redbud entries in 16 categories were evaluated by a slate of out-of-state tourism industry and marketing professionals. Judging criteria covered customer service and experience, marketing effectiveness, media relations, variety of audiences reached, value, and overall creativity. The Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department partners with the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association to present the annual Redbud Awards.

The Redbud Awards were held during National Tourism Week (May 5 – 13) which recognizes the importance of tourism to the national and local economies. Direct travel expenditures in Oklahoma generate more than $6.2 billion for the state's economy annually and support jobs for 74,900 residents.

A full list of 2012 Redbud Award winners by category is included below.

2012 Redbud Award Winners

Outstanding Agritourism Attraction

Redbud: Country Cottage Primitives and Lavender Farm, Shawnee

Best Social media Campaign

Redbud (Tie): The American Banjo Museum

The Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum

Best Brochure or Publication: Trifold or Single Sheet brochure:

Redbud: Ardmore Convention and Visitors Bureau

Best Brochure or Publication: 11 pages or more

Redbud: Frontier Country Marketing Association

Best Overall Marketing Campaign

Redbud: Muskogee Chamber of Commerce and Tourism

Best Website

Redbud: Summerside Vineyards, Winery & Meadery, Vinita

Outstanding Media Coverage: Broadcast

Redbud: Craig Day, KOTV News on 6

Outstanding Media Coverage: Print

Redbud: The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tulsa

Best Partnerships

Redbud: Arbuckle Simpson Nature Festival, Tishomingo

Outstanding Attraction

Redbud: Oklahoma City Zoo

Outstanding New Attraction

Redbud (Tie): Cherokee Strip Regional Heritage Center, Enid

Chickasaw Nation, Chickasaw Cultural Center, Sulphur

Outstanding Lodging Property

Redbud: Pine Lodge Resort, Grand Lake

Outstanding Temporary Exhibit

Redbud: Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, Duncan

Outstanding Event

Redbud (Tie): Ponca City Herb Festival

Okie Noodling Tournament, Pauls Valley

Outstanding New Event

Destination Claremore, Claremore Convention & Visitors Bureau

Redbud: Legends Weekend, Stillwater Convention & Visitors Bureau, Stillwater

Tourism Organization of the Year

Redbud: Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau