Arkansas Delta Byways banquet is rescheduled for May 29; ninth annual Delta Award winners to be announced

May 12, 2009 --The Arkansas Delta Byways banquet has been rescheduled for Friday, May 29, 6:30 p.m., at the Paragould Community Center, 3404 Linwood Drive. The banquet was originally scheduled for Friday, Jan. 30, but was cancelled due to the ice storm. All previous tickets will be honored on Friday, May 29. The annual awards event is open to the public. Winners of the ninth annual Delta Awards will be announced at the banquet; the Delta Awards recognize tourism in eastern Arkansas.

Purchase additional tickets by completing and mailing the banquet reservation form, contact Arkansas Delta Byways at (870) 972-2803, or e-mail Paula Miles (pmiles@astate.edu).

The evening will begin with a 5:30 p.m. silent auction, followed by the dinner and awards ceremony at 7 p.m.  The event is sponsored by Arkansas Delta Byways, with support from the Paragould Area Chamber of Commerce, Paragould Parks and Recreation Department, and Main Street Paragould.

Arkansas Delta Byways, located on the Arkansas State University campus, is a nonprofit association recognized by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism as the official tourism promotion association for 15 counties in eastern Arkansas. Counties include Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Greene, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, and St. Francis.

 Tickets are $25 per person or $175 for a table of eight. For information on ticket availability, contact Arkansas Delta Byways by telephone at (870) 972-2803; by fax at (870) 972-3200; or by e-mail at ardeltab@astate.edu.

Finalists for the awards include:
1.  Media Support Award                            
Occasions Magazine, Jonesboro
Tri-City Tribune, Marked Tree
Kane Webb, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

2. Hospitality Award
Crowley’s Ridge State Park, Paragould
It’s a Wonderful Life Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides, West Mempis
Sunken Lands Regional Chamber of Commerce, Tyronza, Marked Tree, Lepanto, and Dyess
           
3. Entrepreneur Award           
Carriage Square, Helena-West Helena
Parker Pioneer Homestead, Harrisburg
Quapaw Canoe Company, Helena-West Helena
                                   
4. Tourism Support Award            
Henry and Julia Jones, Jonesboro
Piggott Area Chamber of Commerce
Ritz Civic Center, Blytheville

5. Festival/Event of the Year Award
Ding Dong Days, Dumas           
KAIT TV- Region 8 Good Neighbor Tour 
West Memphis Blues and Rhythm Society - Remembering the Plantation Inn

6. Boot Strap Award
Lakeport African-American Cemetery Association, Lake Village
New Hope School, Wynne
Danny and Barbara Adams, The Wall that Heals, Marked Tree

7.         Promotional Award
ASU Museum - Grossology, Jonesboro
Fireball Run Transcontinental Rally, Paragould
The Gladlands, Lee and St. Francis Counties

8.         Outstanding Member Award
Lynette Graham, Chicot County
Sheilla Lampkin, Drew County
Kathy Radomski, Arkansas County

9.         Cultural Heritage Award
Central Delta Depot Museum, Brinkley
Hampson Archeological Museum State Park, Wilson
Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Tyronza

10.        Tourism Person of the Year Award
Arkansas Mississippi River Parkway Commissioners       
Glenda Nichols, Drew County
Robert Patrick, Arkansas County           

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