Pictured from left are Carrie Lambert, executive director of Indiana Tourism Association; Jill Boggs, KCCVB executive director; and Tina Keaffaber, KCCVB manager of industry partner relations.

WARSAW — The Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau was awarded the Best Visitor Guide honors at the 2019 Indiana Tourism Association’s annual Indiana Tourism Conference in Plainfield on March 6.

The KCCVB’s 2018 Visitor Guide was submitted by Jill Boggs, executive director, at the encouragement of bureau staff.

Ten categories were awarded in front of nearly 250 tourism industry professionals throughout the state. The visitor guide category had the most entries with eight vying for the best title. The tourism bureaus who submitted entries in the Best Visitor Guide category were Kosciusko County Convention and Visitor Bureau, Dubois County Visitors Center, Spencer County Visitor Bureau, Sweet Owen Visitor Bureau with the Owen County guide, Visit Madison County, Visit Posey County, Hamilton County Tourism, Inc., and Visit South Bend Mishawaka.

Gerry Dick, broadcast news veteran and host of Inside Indiana Business was the award master of ceremonies.

“We had no idea who was in the category along with us or how many there were until Gerry announced the entries,” said Boggs. “Knowing the quality of all the publications that were in this category made it truly astonishing that our name was called for Best Visitor Guide.”

The three judges that reviewed all category entries were Lute Harmon, Jr., Great Lakes Publishing president, Cleveland, OH; Scottie Ellis, Simon and Schuster Publishing, New York, N.Y.; and Chenelle McGee, marketing coordinator, Shelbyville, Ky., Tourism.

Boggs said the judges’ comments on why they selected the Kosciusko County CVB’s Visitor Guide is because they liked the fold-out events pages. They noted the guide’s beautiful layout with clear map and listings. They liked how the images are large and engaging and said the vent page listing is well-placed and the colored sections provide great ease of use for the reader.

“The guide is published in-house and takes a dedicated team to complete,” said Boggs. “Publishing in-house allows for content and quality control. The team includes the expertise of the CVB’s staff, creative art by local Julien Design Studio, the talents of local photographers, and our local tourism industry partners who believe in, and invest in, the visitor guide as one dynamic way to draw visitors to Kosciusko County. We are all proud of the respect our beautiful destination has earned through this recognition.”

The newly printed 2019 Kosciusko County Visitor Guide is now available at the visitor center on US 30 in Warsaw. The new guide is also available in digital form and can be requested for mailing at visitkosciuskocounty.org.