New Entity Agreement Ceremony Highlight Annual Door County Tourism Breakfast

May 3, 2022. Sturgeon Bay, WI - Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers and Tourism Secretary-designee Anne Sayers were welcomed by nearly 200 guests at Destination Door County’s annual National Travel & Tourism Week breakfast celebration at Stone Harbor Resort on Tuesday, May 3.

Governor Evers and Secretary Designee Sayers both spoke at the event and shared a message about the importance of tourism in the state, the economic impact it has and how impactful Door County has been with all 19 communities working together. Sayers also celebrated some of Door County’s recent achievements such as the Door County Maritime Museum’s new Jim Kress Maritime Lighthouse Tower, the Door County National Scenic Byway designation, and the new Eagle Tower in Peninsula State Park, which Sayers noted is the only fully accessible wood observation tower of its kind in the country.

Another event highlight included the ceremonial signing of a new entity agreement between Destination Door County (DDC) and the Door County Tourism Zone Commission. The agreement has been in the works for several months and the signing ceremony, witnessed by Governor Evers and Tourism Secretary designee Sayers, was the culmination of the process. The new entity agreement provides for continued collaboration, which the two organizations have had since 2007, and ushers in a new era of working together for the benefit of the tourism industry, municipalities, residents and the entire county.

Julie Gilbert, DDC’s President/CEO who started in November 2021, was very happy with her first National Travel and Tourism Week event in Door County. “It was great to see a strong showing at our event and have the wonderful support of the tourism industry,” stated Gilbert. “We are all Door County and by working together we will see the future of tourism continue to grow in a positive direction for all,” she said.

The beginning of the program featured six area students who were awarded scholarships as part of the DDC's Spirit of Door County program. The scholarships are named after a longtime Destination Door County employee, the late Carole Counard. Carole Counard Scholarship winners receive a $1,000 scholarship to use towards furthering their education. These scholarships are open to all Door County residents of any age pursuing further education at a four-year college, a two-year college or a technical college.

This year's scholarship winners were MaKayla Ash, Sturgeon Bay High School; Brooklyn Brauner and Ellie Krohn, Sevastopol High School; Anna Olson, Southern Door High School; Dex Tishler, Gibraltar High School; and Jackson Hitzeman, former Gibraltar High School student now attending UW-Madison.

DDC celebrates National Travel and Tourism week through May 7, 2022. In addition to hosting a special tourism breakfast, an 8-page newspaper insert was distributed in the Peninsula Pulse on April 29. View the digital version of that publication here.

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Caption for above photo: Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (standing, back left) and Wisconsin Tourism Secretary-designee Anne Sayers (standing, back right) witness the signing of a new tourism entity agreement between representatives of the Door County Tourism Zone Commission and Destination Door County at Destination Door County's annual tourism breakfast event at Stone Harbor Resort on May 3, 2022. Seated from left: David Eliot, Vice-Chair of the Door County Tourism Zone; Josh Van Lieshout, Chairman of the Door County Tourism Zone; Todd Trimberger, Destination Door County Board Chairman; and Julie Gilbert, President/CEO of Destination Door County.
Photo courtesy of Destination Door County/Jon Jarosh

 

Caption for above photo: Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers addresses the crowd during Destination Door County's annual tourism breakfast event at Stone Harbor Resort on Tuesday May 3, 2022. Photo courtesy of Destination Door County/Yvonne Torres

 

Caption for above photo: This year's Carole Counard Scholarship winners were presented with special certificates during during Destination Door County's annual tourism breakfast event at Stone Harbor Resort on Tuesday May 3, 2022. Pictured, from left: Anna Olson, Southern Door High School; Ma Kayla Ash, Sturgeon Bay High School; Ellie Krohn, Sevastopol High School; and Destination Door County President/CEO Julie Gilbert. Additional scholarship winners not shown include Brooklyn Brauner, Sevastopol High School; Dex Tishler, Gibraltar High School; and Jackson Hitzeman, former Gibraltar High School student now attending UW-Madison. Photo courtesy of Destination Door County/Yvonne Torres