Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/129161
•pg_3-13__BMT_pg3-58 5/7/13 3:51 PM Page 4 PUBLISHER'S MESSAGE A pril promises to be a very eventful month for me as I anticipate attending the 14th Annual Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism Development (STC-14) in Trinidad & Tobago. Not only will the conference afford me the opportunity to keep up to speed about tourism and meetings related activities in the region, it will also allow me to scope out the Hyatt Regency Trinidad, the site of our Apex Awards ceremony to be held at the Travel Professionals of color (TPOC) conference (July 29-August 5). The 11th Annual TPOC Conference & Trade Show, scheduled to coincide with the dual island nation's Emancipation Celebration on August 1st, will convene in Trinidad at the Hyatt and relocate to Tobago at the Magdalena Grand Beach Resort so that participants can experience both of these exciting and culturally rich destinations. In addition to the spectacular and colorful Emancipation Day Celebration Activities and a full agenda of educational opportunities for its mostly travel agent/tour operator membership, the conference will also include the "TPOC Heritage Summit," the perfect vehicle for suppliers and DMOs to showcase their heritage destinations. The BM&T Apex Awards for Distinguished Service are annually presented by Black Meetings & Tourism magazine to a select number of individuals who have made outstanding contributions in their particular fields of endeavor that have positively impacted travel and tourism. Since we are presenting the awards in Trinidad, we thought it only appropriate to recognize some of our Caribbean colleagues who have played such an important role in developing the region's visitor industry. Among those receiving awards are Beverly Nicholson-Doty, commissioner of tourism for the United States Virgin Islands and chairman of the Council of Ministers and Commissioners of Tourism for the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Hugh Riley, secretary general & chief executive officer of the Caribbean Tourism Organization, Dittie Guise, general manager of the SMG/Montego Bay Convention Centre, and Campbell Rudder, vice president of marketing for the Barbados Tourism Authority. The awards will be presented at a luncheon on Tuesday, July 30th at the Hyatt. The most rewarding part of my participation in STC-14 will be connecting with my family members who live in Trinidad, as well as planning our return for the TPOC Conference during which we will also hold a mini family reunion. When I go back for TPOC in July I will be joined by Gloria Herbert, my wife (BM&T's associate publisher/editor), and Solomon Herbert II, my son (BM&T's production manager and webmaster), and hopefully by BM&T contributing writers Bill Herbert (brother) and Lana Herbert and Brienne Herbert (nieces), and administrative assistant Paul Herbert (grandson). It will be an experience of a lifetime for our family. As if that were not enough activity for April, Gloria and I will receive an African Diaspora World Tourism Award on April 27th at the Hall of Fame Luncheon being held at the Atlanta Airport Marriott. Longtime friend Kitty J. Pope is the creator and executive director of African Diaspora World Tourism Awards. The copublisher and publication editor of AfricanDiasporaTourism.com, Pope is also the author of "Beside Every Great Man," a book on Black wives who have supported their notable husbands on the road to success. She is a freelance travel writer who is the founder and president of the International Association of Black Travel Writers. It's always a welcomed and unexpected treat to be recognized by one of your own for the work that you do, and we are definitely looking forward to this honor. Solomon J. Herbert Publisher/Editor-In-Chief E-Mail: BMandTMag@aol.com Black Meetings & Tourism is published bi-monthly by SunGlo Enterprises, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207 •Telephone: (818)709-0646/Fax: (818) 709-4753 Copyright 2013 by SunGlo Enterprises. All rights reserved. Single Copies, $6.00 Subscriptions $45.00. Postage Paid at Pasadena, CA. •Postmaster send address changes to Black Meetings & Tourism, 20840 Chase St., Winnetka, CA 91306-1207. 4 B M & T ••• March/April 2013 ••• www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com