Acme, Bellaire, TC among tourism "Stars of the Year"

Several northwest Michigan businesses were among those honored as "Stars" of the state tourism industry in April.

The Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association hands out "Star of the Year" awards each year at the Pure Michigan Governor's Conference, and this year our area was well-represented, with award recipients from Acme, Bellaire, Gaylord and Traverse City.

Aaron McIntyre of Treetops Resort in Gaylord was awarded Seasonal Star of the Year for 2013. He's the assistant manager for the resort's golf and ski shop, and has worked there since 2005. He won the award for his personal initiative to improve the golf shop and willingness to take on any task.

Doug Cook is the kids' experience coordinator at Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City, and oversees the resort's childrens' club. He won the 2013 Attraction Star of the Year award and also recently won the hotel's employee of the year award for the regard in which Cook's fellow employees and happy customers hold him.

The 2013 Sales and Marketing Star of the Year was Chris Hale at Shanty Creek Resorts in Bellaire. Hale is VP of the resort and oversees all departments that produce traffic and revenue. His marketing efforts for Shanty Creek's fiftieth anniversary included extending the brand message with a statewide campaign, new resort-wide campaigns and launching a custom print publication called "Traditions."

The Grand Traverse Resort and Spa in Acme received the Good Earth Keeping Award for 2013, accepted by general manager Tim Norman. It's not the first time the resort's environmental efforts have gained notice; it won the Northern Michigan Environment Action Council award in 2011. Among its achievements: in the first year of a new green program, the resort composted more than 100 tons of food waste, diverted more than 40 cubic yards of plastics from landfills, and reduced overall waste by more than 40 percent.

Other award recipients came from Birmingham, Dearborn, Detroit, East Lansing, Lansing, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo and Sault Ste. Marie.

Writer: Sam Eggleston
Source: Michigan Lodging and Tourism Association