Photo by Choctaw NationFrom left to right: Seth Fairchild, Chahta Foundation Executive Director; Tammye Gwin, Senior Executive Officer of Strategic Development; Kerry Steve, PowWow Director and Executive Assistant for Cultural Services; Chief Gary Batton; Michael Roberts, PowWow Arena Director and World Champion Fancy Dancer and Jo McDaniel, Choctaw Nation Tourism Manager.
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma honored during Annual RedBud Awards
2022 Merit Award Recipient for Outstanding Event for Choctaw Nation PowWow
Published July 6, 2022
DURANT, Okla. – The Oklahoma Travel Industry Association (OTIA) held its annual RedBud Awards at the Oklahoma History Center on June 14, where the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) was recognized for the Annual Choctaw Nation PowWow.
Open to all Oklahoma tourism entities, the RedBud Awards represent the highest honor given in the Oklahoma tourism industry. The awards recognize Oklahoma’s top tourism attractions, events, programs and organizations for outstanding efforts to serve and promote Oklahoma’s tourism industry.
“This year’s RedBud Award submissions were highly competitive,” said Debra Bailey, OTIA President and CEO. “With travel picking back up, each submission is an example of why Oklahoma is a perfect travel destination, and we are thrilled to be honoring these entries.”
CNO’s Annual Choctaw Nation PowWow earned the Redbud Merit in the Outstanding Event category. The PowWow held in December 2021, was a tremendous success with over 600 registered dancers and over 50 tribes from more than 25 states and three Canadian provinces participating. The event drew hundreds of spectators to Southern Oklahoma and had 640,000 live stream views across 111 countries, according to powwows.com reporting.
All entries were evaluated by a slate of tourism professionals on specific criteria including customer service and experience, marketing effectiveness, media relations, variety of audiences reached, value and overall creativity.
CNO’s tourism department submits RedBud nominations every year between 15 categories and has won six awards since 2017.
About The Choctaw Nation
The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest Indian Nation in the United States with more than 225,000 tribal members and 12,000-plus associates. This ancient people has an oral tradition dating back over 13,000 years. The first tribe over the Trail of Tears, its historic reservation boundaries are in the southeast corner of Oklahoma, covering 10,923 square miles. The Choctaw Nation’s vision, “Living out the Chahta Spirit of faith, family and culture,” is evident as it continues to focus on providing opportunities for growth and prosperity.
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Contact Kristina Humenesky for any media relations needs at [email protected].