SULLIVAN COUNTY, NY — During a meeting of the Sullivan County Legislature’s Economic Development Committee on Thursday, November 5, the Sullivan Catskills Visitors Association presented the legislature with a tourism award, as well as a video highlighting local stories.

The county and the SCVA won the New York State Tourism Excellence Award for Tourism Advocacy for the SCVA’s tourism grant program. The grant program is a joint effort between the County and the SCVA to reinvest money collected through lodging tax back into local organizations that drive tourism to Sullivan County. The New York State Tourism Industrial Association recognized the program with its New York State Tourism Excellence Award in the Transformational Tourism Stewardship: Tourism Advocacy category. 

Michael Martelon, the President and the CEO of the SCVA, said that program was “innovative” and thanked the legislature for their work in creating the program. 

“Every dollar in this program starts with a visitor who chose to spend the night in Sullivan County,” said Martelon. “This award belongs here. We’re proud to steward the program and excited about where we take it next.” 

Martelon also expressed his thanks to Sullivan County Planning Commissioner Heather Brown, calling her his “guiding light.” Brown said that she understands the importance of tourism in Sullivan County.

“Tourism is a bedrock industry in Sullivan County, and this has been true for almost all of our 200-year history,” Brown said in a release put out by the SCVA. “Having my own experience as part of a family who for decades welcomed thousands of tourists through a downtown business in Kauneonga Lake, I am very aware of the positive impact these grants would have in our communities. As a county leader, I was happy to be involved in this program.” 

Photo contributed by Dan Hust

Sullivan County and the Sullivan Catskills Visitor's Association won the New York State Tourism Excellence Award for Tourism Advocacy for the SCVA's grant program.

Nadia Rajsz, the chair of the Sullivan County Legislature, expressed her thanks to Martelon for his hard work. In a release, Rajsz spoke to the importance of tourism to the county and the collaboration between the SCVA and the county.

“I am grateful to both my fellow legislators and the SCVA that we could collaborate to make this program a reality, and I’m thrilled NYSTIA recognized the impact we’re making together,” Rajsz said in a release. “Our tourism industry is vital to the economic health and vitality of the entire County, and the Legislature and the SCVA will continue to work together to increase support and opportunities for that industry.” 

The award is the latest in recognitions the SCVA has gathered, including a recognition by international travel organization Skift for the visitors association’s remodeled brand and website.

Sullivan’s stories

During the committee meeting, the SCVA also unveiled a new campaign highlighting the stories of organizations and people of Sullivan County.

The campaign, called “here,” is a short video series that is on the SCVA’s website and its Youtube channel currently. The series consists of short documentaries, with shorter cuts of the videos being used on the SCVA’s social media and in their newsletter. The series will have a new episode every month. 

So far, the series has covered the Driftwood Ranch Resort in White Lake, The Outlier Inn in Woodridge, The Callicoon Center Band in Callicoon Center and the Forestburgh Playhouse in Forestburgh. During the meeting, Martelon said there are plans for more and they’ve seen a good response so far.

“We [Sullivan County] have more stories than anyone, so we're never going to run out of content on these things,” Martelon said. “I really believe that they're starting to pull people in." 

Jenny Sanchez, the director of communications and community engagement for the SCVA, told the River Reporter that they have a system set up to pick the people, places and organizations that they highlight.

“The Sullivan Catskills brand is built on pillars, which are like the DNA of the county. We research the stories that surface within those pillars, see if the subjects are interested, and balance them across the county’s different geographic areas,” she said.  

Sanchez also said that there is more in the works, and that they’ve received a good reception for the series so far.

“The county has so many stories to share, and our current plan is to release one episode per month with no plans to stop. As the series grows, we’ll continue to evolve with it,” Sanchez said. “We’re very excited that it’s been well received and we look forward to sharing more about our lovely home with the world.”