18th Annual Bloomington Diamond Service Awards Sunday, February 9, 2014

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18h ANNUAL DIAMOND SERVICE AWARDS OVERVIEW The Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau (BCVB) recognizes the importance of customer satisfaction and re-peat visitors to Bloomington. To further enhance and carry out the mission of the Bureau’s marketing efforts and to create a more unified destination, it is important that front-line hospitality employees are recognized for providing outstanding service to Bloomington visitors. The hospitality industry is Bloomington's number one industry, employing over 20,000 people. The Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau presented the 18th Annual Diamond Service Awards program to nominees in non-supervisory positions in the hospitality industry. These individuals have direct contact with visitors and local cus-tomers, making them the face of Bloomington. Nominations were submitted by their supervisors for those employ-ees who distinguished themselves by promoting Bloomington as a destination through their enthusiasm and exem-plary service to enhance the visitor's experiences.

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AWARDS CEREMONY Sunday, February 9, 2014 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington-Minneapolis South. The reception at 4:30

p.m., awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m.

Diamond Service Award trophies were presented in 17 categories along with The City of Bloomington’s 12th Annual Food Safety Awards

The Spirit of Hospitality Award was presented to David Fong’s Restaurant

The Hospitality Hall of Fame presented its fourth and fifth award to Terry Jagow, Executive Chef at the Double-Tree by Hilton Bloomington-Minneapolis South for his 29 years of service and Linda Fleming, Executive

Housekeeper at the Quality Inn & Suites Airport

Attendees enjoyed dinner, dessert and premier entertainment by Jennifer Spingola, the “dj violinist”

Over 820 guests from Bloomington hotels, restaurants, area businesses and attractions, city and government officials, sponsors, vendors and suppliers were in attendance

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Nominations Nominees: 295 Nominating Businesses: 48

Nominating Businesses American Girl Boutique and Bistro Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Cantina #1 Caribou Coffee Comfort Inn Airport Country Inn & Suites Bloomington West Country Inn & Suites Mall of America Courtyard by Marriott Minneapolis Bloomington Cowboy Jack’s Bloomington Crowne Plaza Bloomington Crowne Plaza MSP Airport Mall of America Dick’s Last Resort DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington-Minneapolis South Embassy Suites Bloomington Embassy Suites Minneapolis Airport Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que Hampton Inn and Suites Hilton Garden Inn Minneapolis/Bloomington Hilton Minneapolis/Bloomington Hotel

Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Holiday Inn Bloomington Airport South Holiday Inn Express Minneapolis/Airport MOA Homewood Suites by Hilton Minneapolis MOA Hyatt Place Minneapolis Airport-South Kokomo’s Island Café Mall of America Minneapolis Airport Marriott Napa Valley Grille Nickelodeon Universe® Nordstrom Marketplace Café Park Plaza Quality Inn & Suites Airport Radisson Blu Mall of America Radisson Hotel Bloomington by Mall of America Ramada Mall of America Residence Inn Bloomington Sam’s Club St. Croix Retail & Promotions SEA LIFE Minnesota Aquarium Sheraton Bloomington Hotel Sky Deck Sports Grille & Lanes Super 8 Theatres at Mall of America Water Park of America Woolley’s Restaurant

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Businesses in Attendance AmericInn Hotel & Suites Bloomington Arby’s AVEX Best Western Hotels BIX Produce Bloomington City Council Bloomington Theatre and Art Center City of Bloomington COLOURS Marketing + Design Cub Foods—Lyndale Avenue Delta Vacations edgProductions Fairfield Inn & Suites Farmer Brothers Coffee Festival Foods Greater MSP GREENSPR!NG Media Group HVS Hotel Management IDEAS J.J. Taylor Johnson Brothers Long John Silver’s McDonald’s Metropolitan Airports Commission Mighty Dog Media, LLC Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development New French Bakery

Normandale Community College Panda Express Parma 8200 RCS Strategic Outsourcing Rainbow Foods Rainforest Cafe Reinhart Foods Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate Sons of Norway Trillium Spa Trinchero Family Estates US Bank US Foodservice White Castle Nominating businesses listed on page 4 were also in attendance

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SPONSORS The Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau would like to take this opportunity to thank our 18th Annual Dia-mond Service Award sponsors for their support. Without them, we would not be able to honor our industry’s most valuable assets, the employees.

ELITE SPONSORS:

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ELITE SPONSORS

AVEX

COLOURS Marketing + Design

DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington Minneapolis-South

edgPRODUCTIONS

Greenspring Media Group

Mall of America®

Nickelodeon Universe®

Reinhart Foodservice

Sysco

US Foods

DIAMOND SPONSORS

Famous Dave’s Bar-B-Que

Kokomo’s Island Café

Sheraton Bloomington Hotel

Radisson Hotel Bloomington by Mall of America

Sons of Norway

St. Croix Promotions & Retail, Inc.

U.S. Bank

CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS

A & M Group

Best Western Hotels

Bix Produce

Country Inn & Suites at Mall of America

Crowne Plaza MSP Airport Mall of America

Delta Vacations

Farmer Brothers Coffee

Flowerama

J.J. Taylor

Johnson Brother

Men’s Warehouse & Tux

New French Bakery

Park Plaza

Sam’s Club

Trinchero Family Estates

Trillium Spa

Ultimate Events

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EVENT RECOGNITION

Bloomington Convention & Visitors Bureau Website

- BloomingtonMN.org/diamondserviceawards - Dedicated landing page for Diamond Service Awards Information

- Nomination Form - Presenting Sponsors listed with logos Nomination page: 406 page views Diamond Service Awards: 2,825 page views DSA Sponsorship page: 674 page views

Invitation

- Distribution of over 900

Program

- Distributed to over 820 event attendees - Sponsors logos shown

RSVP Magazine Insert

Four page insert highlighting event recipients

- Circulation of 8,000 - Spring, 2014 issue - RSVP Homepage: http://www.rsvpmnmag.com/

Signage

- Sponsor Powerpoint presentation during award ceremony

- All sponsors listed

Commemorative Winners Plaques

- Permanent black, marble display plaques presented to Bloomington hospitality and retail establishments with Diamond Service Award re-cipient’s name, to be updated annually with en-graved plates

- Presenting Sponsors engraved on each plaque, displayed in prominent location in Bloomington hospitality and retail establishments

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MEDIA COVERAGE

Recap Video A two minute recap vide is created to highlight the special evening of award recipients and is posted on the Bloom-ington CVB website, social media sites and on Youtube Television Diamond Service Awards Special Broadcast on Bloomington Channel 33 - A one-hour segment broadcast will run throughout 2014.

Photographs Event photographs are posted on Flickr—http://www.flickr.com/photos/50255782@N05/sets Media Release Distribution: Metro and regional newspapers, magazines, hospitality and food industry magazines Newsletters Roomers e-newsletter sent out monthly (October-March) with DSA write up Biz Buzz e-newsletter sent out quarterly with DSA write up

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PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE EVENT The Fong Family accepts the 2014

Spirit of Hospitality Award for David Fong’s Restaurant

Tom Grether from Dick’s last Resort receives the Diamond Service

Award for Best Server, Restaurant

Banquet Chef Terry Jagow from the DoubleTree by Hilton Bloomington-

Minneapolis South is inducted into the Hospitality Hall of Fame for his 29 years

of service

Linda Fleming from the Quality Inn & Suites Airport is inducted into the

Hospitality Hall of Fame for her 24 years of employment as an Executive

Housekeeper

Bloomington Mayor Gene Winstead enters the ballroom to celebrate the

kickoff to the awards

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. receives the 2013 Overall Food Safety Award

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PHOTOGRAPHS OF THE EVENT Sofitel Minneapolis receives the

Overall 2013 Food Safety Award from Mayor Gene Winstead

Pat Logan from the Crowne Plaza Bloomington receives the Diamond Service Award for Best Valet/Driver

Yalay Cintero from the Crowne Plaza MSP Airport Mall of America receives

the award for Best Hotel/Housekeeping in a Full Service Hotel

Patti Ehreshmann receives the Best Bartender award. Patti tends bar at

Woolley’s Restaurant

Jennifer Spingola, the “dj violinist” put together an incredible

performance of songs spanning the decades

An excited Finalist has his corsage placed on him before the award cer-

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DIAMOND SERVICE AWARDS INFORMATION

For more pictures, videos and information, please become a fan of Bloomington Minnesota on Facebook

http://www.bloomingtonmn.org/diamondserviceawards

www.facebook.com/bloomingtonminnesota

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50255782@N05/sets

For Diamond Service Awards sponsorship information, Contact Sherri Mullery, Vice President of Business & Foundation Partnership at (952) 278-8506 smullery@bloomingtonmn.org