Walton County TDC Annual Meeting, Artist of the Year, Van Ness Jr. Award

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Walton County Tourist Development Council Hosts Community for Annual Meeting
and Announces Artist of the Year and Van Ness Butler Jr. Recipients

On Tuesday, October 15, Walton County TDC hosted approximately 200 individuals from the community for the Annual Meeting on the deck at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa. Jim Bagby, TDC Director, announced that local spending is up over 12% since last year. Walton County has been ranked 10th in the state of Florida for collections despite being ranked 41st out of 67 counties for population. At the meeting The South Walton Artist of the Year and Van Ness Butler Jr. Award recipients were announced.

Walton County TDC Annual Snapshot [see pdf attachment below]



Congrats to Mary Hong, the 2014 South Walton Artist of the Year! Mary Hong Studio is located at Shops of Grayton in Grayton Beach.

 

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Walton County Artist of the Year 2014 is Mary Hong

Walton County TDC Announces Mary Hong as The 2014 South Walton Artist of the Year

Program Expands to Include Category Winners

The Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) proudly announced Mary Hong as The 2014 South Walton Artist of the Year. Now in its 13th year, the Artist of the Year program has grown to showcase a collection of local artists that offer a wide range of mediums. Through this program, the TDC promotes the destination’s thriving arts community and places the spotlight on a talented artist each year.

Mary has been a professional artist for over 20 years and has beenworking with glass the last 13 years. While her work is melted and shaped glass from a kiln, her work can be described asnon-traditional mosaic. Mary uses a dimensional glass technique to stand glass rigidly on its edge to allow light to pass through the glass while reflecting colors and textures onto a surface. Her work is inspired by South Walton’s coastal environment with her use of marine life, birds, and coastal landscapes. The work is all created with recycled glass which aligns with South Walton’s focus on preservation and sustainability. She finds inspiration not only inthe spectacular landscape, beaches, coastal dune lakes, and pine forests throughout our nature preserves, but also in the South Walton color palette with shades of turquoise, soft teals, slivery grey, & other windswept hues that complement her glass pieces. Mary’s work is currently featured in five galleries in South Walton: In Seacrest at Allison Wikey’s Gallery; in Watercolor at the Blue Giraffe; in Grayton Beach at Beau Interiors, in Miramar Beach at LoveLaceInteriors; and in her own Mary Hong Studio in Grayton Beach which she opened this past year.

With such a large and diverse artistic community, the TDC expanded the South Walton Artist of the Year recognitions this year to better reflect that no one particular style or aesthetic can truly define who or what South Walton looks like as a whole.

“South Walton is not a single brush stroke, note played, stitched sewn,pixels captured, knot tied, nor object found to be repurposed—South Walton is a graceful and often times eclectic combination of all of these, representing all of the vast styles and art forms,”said Jon Ervin, Director of Marketing and Communications for the Walton County TDC. “This year not only was someone be named as TheSouth Walton Artist of the Year, but four more local artisans will be recognized for their creative work in our community.” This year’s honorees included, Performer of the Year Mike Witty, Photographer of the Year Chandler Williams, Painter of the Year Juan Adaro, and Designer of the Year Stephanie Carter in addition to Mary Hong as The 2014 South Walton Artist of the Year.

For more information about South Walton, please visitwww.VisitSouthWalton.com or contact the Visitor’s Center at (800) 822-6877.

 

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WaltonCounty TDC Announces Malcolm Patterson as Van Ness Butler, Jr.Hospitality Award Winner


The Walton County Tourist Development Council (TDC) named Malcolm Patterson as its 2013 Van Ness Butler,Jr. Hospitality Award recipient yesterday during the TDC’s Annual Meeting. Each year, the TDC recognizes a pioneer in the tourismindustry with the prestigious award, bestowed upon a community member for his or her visionary leadership in helping to shape South Waltoninto a premier tourist destination.

“Each year,members of the local community nominate individuals who give atremendous amount of support to the tourism industry in South Walton to which we are very grateful. Malcolm’s contributions are the perfect representation of the spirit this award exudes and he is very deserving of this designation,” said TDC Executive Director Jim Bagby to those in attendance.

Patterson was the Walton County TDC's first executive director and one of South Walton's original tourism advocates in 1988. He championed beach access for visitors by acquiring seven parcels of federal property, directed the development of 26 public beach accesses and began the TDC's oversight of cleaning the beaches. He negotiated the lease with the state of Florida for two acres of land to build a Visitor Information Center and created the first TDC website to serve visitors. He established the South Walton Sports Fest Triathlon and promoted the Fine Arts Festival, which is now ArtsQuest. Patterson understood the value of working cooperatively as a region and established the Northwest Florida Tourism Council, and served as a charter member of The Florida Commission on Tourism. He hired in-house marketing and public relations professionals and doubled awareness of the destination by advocating the configuration of the Florida state map to include South Walton and Northwest Florida. He coordinated recovery efforts after storms such as Opal,oil on the beaches caused by an oil spill in Tampa in 1994 and ships dumping in the Gulf. Patterson advocated for community involvement and hosted the first TDC Annual Meeting to keep the tourism industry and community informed and engaged. Mr. Patterson has been a pioneer in the tourism industry for nearly 25 years and is extremely deserving of the Van Ness Butler, Jr. Award.

Patterson joins a group of highly respected individuals who have been instrumental in shaping South Walton’s tourism industry and have taken a leadership role in responsible growth. The Van Ness Butler,Jr. Hospitality Award was named after and first presented to Van Ness Butler, Jr. in honor of his outstanding leadership and continuing his family’s legacy in making South Walton a leading, upscale destination. Each year, the Walton County TDC accepts nominations for individuals with an active role in the tourism industry. For more information about South Walton, please visit www.VisitSouthWalton.comor contact the Visitor’s Center at (800) 822-6877.