Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair wins tourism award
by March 17, 2009 9:33 pm 130 views
The Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair was named the 2008 Grand Old Classic Special Event award winner Tuesday night at the closing ceremonies of the 35th Annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism.
The conference was held at the Fort Smith Convention Center, with more than 620 tourism officials around the state attending.
Each year Arkansas tourism officials award the Grand Old Classic award to a festival, fair, or other special celebration which has “stood the test of time” and become an established example for the more than 1,200 special events held in Arkansas each year.
In naming the Arkansas Oklahoma State Fair the winner, tourism officials said the fair was “one of the finest events in the country,” with more than 300 volunteers making the nine-day event a successful entertainment venue for more than 150,000 fair attendees.
Accepting the award on behalf of the Arkansas Oklahoma Regional Education and Promotion Association, the board that manages the fair, was Pam Carter, Fort Smith veterinarian Monroe Moreton and Sherri Shumate.
The other nominees in the Grand Old Classic category were the CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association) Motorcycle Rally in Hatfield, and the Dermott Annual Crawfish Festival.
Jim Shamburger, chairman of the Little Rock Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, was named the 2008 Arkansas Tourism Person of the Year.
It was also announced that the 2010 Governor’s Conference will be held in Eureka Springs.