Delta Awards presented at tourism conference

The 24th Annual Delta Awards, in recognition of tourism excellence in eastern Arkansas, were presented recently at the Cooper Alumni Center on campus at Arkansas State University.

Arkansas Delta Byways (ADB) is a nonprofit association recognized by the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism as the official tourism promotion association for 15 counties in eastern Arkansas.

Those counties include Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Greene, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett and St. Francis.

ADB receives administrative support through Arkansas State University’s Arkansas Heritage Sites Office.

Winners for the 2025 awards include:

• Hospitality Award — Holy Grounds Community Coffeehouse in St. Francis County
• Entrepreneur Award — Helena Adventure Company in Phillips County
• Tourism Support/Promotional Award — Forrest L. Wood Crowley’s Ridge Nature Center in Craighead County
• Festival/Event of the Year — The Skirmish, A Delta Gravel Festival in Craighead County
• Boot Strap Award — Leachville Beautification Corporation in Mississippi County
• Cultural Heritage Award — Friends of John H. Johnson Museum in Desha County
• Tourism Person of the Year, Robert Zenanko, president of the Mississippi County Historical and Genealogical Society and chair of the Osceola Advertising and Promotion Commission in Mississippi County
• Distinguished Service Award — Dawna Parker, manager of the Arkansas Welcome Center at Helena in Phillips County
• Star Award — Mississippi County