The Savannah Area Tourism Leadership Council hosted its 11th Annual Tourism Awards & Scholarship Dinner on Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at the Savannah Marriott Riverfront. Community leaders were honored for their impact on the local tourism and hospitality industry with several top awards. This year's Herb & Franklin Traub Visionary Award and John P. Rousakis Community Champion Award recipients were Paula Deen, Entrepreneur and Owner of The Lady & Sons and Uncle Bubba's Oyster Bar, and Michael Brown, City Manager of the City of Savannah, respectively. In addition, the recipients of the Service Star William “Bill” Wade, and Service Leader Awards for exemplary job performance in the hospitality industry Cindy Johnson was announced as well as the Tourism Leadership Council Member of the Year, Brendan Ferrara. Five scholarships were presented from the Sheldon Fox Scholarship Program to students pursuing culinary, tourism and hospitality careers. Sonny Dixon, news anchor for WTOC-TV, served as emcee for the evening (Scholarship winners listed on page 7). Scholarship recipients awarded during the Tourism Leadership Council include:

Barbara Favery, Georgia Southern University

Petya Kostadinova, Savannah Technical College

Tacuma McCraw, H.V. Jenkins High School/Johnson and Wales University

Seth Nix, University of South Carolina-Beaufort Sheldon Fox Scholar:

Chesney Fox, University of South Carolina-Beaufort.

Mark Dana currently serves as President of the Tourism Leadership Council, and Marti Barrow serves as Executive Director.

Congratulations to all award recipents honored during the Awards dinner.