Alec Sanguinetti, CHA Director General and CEO; Trudy Nixon, Association Executive, Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association and Sue Springer, Executive Vice President of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association and CSHAE President.

The Newsworthy Award for Excellence in Membership Communications was given to the Anguilla Hotel and Tourism Association (AHTA) for its Membership News, a straightforward, no fuss electronic newsletter (easily read even by smart phones and PDA’s) that contains information on local events and openings, promotes local members’ businesses, includes tourism-related articles and trends, gives information on conferences and CHA news, and requests information for destination publicity purposes. Anguilla’s Association Executive, Trudy Nixon, mentioned the importance of editing information received before forwarding, in order to render it more relevant to the members at the local level. “In a recent membership survey, the newsletter received the highest AHTA membership service satisfaction ranking..” said Nixon.

Meanwhile, Dawn W. Smith, from the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Hotel & Tourism Association, received the Newsworthy Award for Excellence in Tourism Awareness, in recognition of her association’s work to demonstrate that "what's good for the tourism and hospitality industry is good for the country and the people." To raise awareness among the future leaders of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the national hotel association teamed up with the St. Vincent Girls High School for a Tourism Internship Program, to introduce high school students to the world of travel and hospitality - and to highlight the career opportunities and career paths available in the sector.