Nominations open for 2011 Vision Awards

Jeff Green | Aug 18, 2011

Every two years, the Land O'Lakes Tourist Association (LOLTA) celebrates innovative businesses in the nine municipalities where it operates with its Vision Awards.

The biennial awards were created by former LOLTA General Manager Terry Shea and have shown themselves to have legs, as this year marks the fourth time they are being presented.

One winner will be chosen from each municipality and there will be an overall winner as well. While it is LOLTA that presents the awards, anyone can nominate a business for the awards, and the businesses do not need to be LOLTA members to be eligible.

“The awards are intended to celebrate businesses that have “shown innovation, expansion, and extraordinary determination to grow in rural communities,” said Rachelle Hardesty, LOLTA general manager. “In addition, the ability to bring new concepts to the marketplace, improve accessibility to persons with disabilities, achieve a milestone of success, and show new innovations will be considered.”

Among the nine LOLTA municipalities are North, Central and South Frontenac and Addington Highlands. Nomination forms are available online at Travellandolakes.com by clicking on the blog button, on the Facebook or Twitter sites of LOLTA, or by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information, call 1-800-840-4445.

The forms are easy to fill out, and only require a 30-50 word description of why a business should be considered for the award, and there is no limit to how many businesses one person can nominate from one or several communities. In the case of the Vision Awards, it's a true case of vote early and vote often.

The Land O’Lakes Tourism Vision Awards will be handed out at a dinner in late September at the Trudeau Park Resort in Tweed. More details about the dinner will be available after the nomination deadline, which is September 7.