by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 2:50 PM ET, Tue October 8, 2024
The Will Medina Spirit Awards are named for the late travel advisor, Will Medina. (Photo Credit: Mario M. Lopez)
WHY IT RATES: The new awards champion travel advisors who are creating a greater community and positive impact in their field and the wider travel community. — Lacey Pfalz, Associate Writer, TravelPulse
Nominations have opened for three brand-new annual awards created by the Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association (DWHSA) in honor of one of its longtime members who was a leader in the field of destination weddings.
The Will Medina Spirit Awards will recognize the "giving back" spirit of Will Medina, the late founder of the Destination Wedding Expert agency and creator of the Destination Wedding University training program for advisors.
"Will emphasized community over competition in everything he did in his business and in his work with thousands of travel professionals over the years," said Suzanne Haire, the chair of the awards committee and the owner of TravelAgentSuz, LLC, in Fla. "We want to honor his spirit for many years to come by recognizing other advisors who're giving back too and following his example. Many people leave little to no legacy – Will instilled personal change in our industry and we were lucky to have him as a friend and as a colleague."
Three awards will be given in early 2025:
- The Community Over Competition Award (for the advisor providing the best example of mentoring other advisors, encouraging them, and lifting them up to grow their businesses)
- The Charity/Philanthropy Award (for the advisor who has grown nonprofit activities that benefit fellow advisors, travelers, their local communities, and the world of travel as a whole)
- The Pioneer Award (for the advisor who has created the most unique, innovative romance travel niche, business idea, or model)
Joining Haire on the awards committee will be these judges:
- Mario M. Lopez, Will's husband who serves as president of the Destination Weddings Expert agency and the Destination Wedding University program
- Eric Bowman, the executive editor of TravelPulse and host of the TravelPulse Podcast
- Nadia "Sparkle" Henry, the owner of the Travel with Sparkle agency and a contributing editor for Travel Weekly
- Cheryl Rosen, the former editor in chief of Travel Market Report and executive editor of Business Travel News
The nomination deadline for the 2025 honors will be Friday, Nov. 29, and the inaugural awards will be announced early next year. Complete details (including the nomination form) may be found at WillMedinaSpiritAwards.com.
SOURCE: DWHSA press release.
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