NASHVILLE — Calling all wedding specialists! Destination Wedding & Honeymoon Specialists Association (DWHSA) has opened nominations for three new annual awards, created in honour of one of its longtime members.
The Will Medina Spirit Awards 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 owner of TravelAgentSuz. “We want to honour 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: Given to the advisor who provides the best example of mentoring other advisors, encouraging them and lifting them up to grow their businesses
- The Charity/Philanthropy Award: Given to the advisor who has grown non-profit activities that benefit fellow advisors, travellers, their local communities and the world of travel as a whole
- The Pioneer Award: Given to the advisor who has created the most unique, innovative romance travel niche, business idea of model
The nomination deadline for the 2025 awards is Nov. 29, 2024. Nominations are open to Canadian travel advisors. The Inaugural awards will be announced early next year.
Complete details, including the nomination form, can be found at WillMedinaSpiritAwards.com.
