Annual Meeting & Awards Ceremony
Thank you to our sponsors, state, regional, and municipal leaders, all award recipients and attendees
for making this event a great success. Please CLICK HERE to access our photo gallery.
North of Boston CVB Annual Meeting, Tourism Awards
& Mini-Grant Ceremony
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Blue Ocean Event Center
4 Ocean Front N, in Salisbury
5:30pm to 9:00pm

CLICK HERE to purchase tickets.
AGENDA
5:30pm – Check-in and Cocktail Hour
6:30pm – Dinner
7:15pm – Awards Presentation
8:00pm – Remarks/ Board Inductions & Thank you for Service
8:30pm – Closing Remarks
2018 Tourism Award Winners
2019 TOURISM AWARD WINNERS
2019 Anne Turcotte Leadership Award
Karen and Glenn Cook
Cider Hill Farm
This leadership award was renamed in 2012 in honor of our colleague and friend Anne Turcotte. The award is given to an individual or organization whose innovation, expertise and energy serves as an inspiration for others in the tourism industry.
2019 Geoff Woodman Hospitality Award
Ben Lithgow
The House of the Seven Gables
The Geoff Woodman Hospitality Award is given to an individual who has contributed significantly to the tourism industry of the North of Boston region and honors the NBCVB member who best exemplifies the region’s hospitality.
2019 Story Teller Award
Harold Burnham
Schooner Ardelle
The Story Teller Award honors the region’s best storytellers-the individuals, who share not only their company’s story, but all the rich history and culture of the region in everything they do in celebration of the North of Boston’s regional theme: “A Story in Every Mile”.
2019 Small Business Award
Paul Gentile
Gentile Brewing Company
The Small Business Award is given to a small business owner who recognizes the importance of the tourism industry and is committed to servicing the visitors of Essex County.
2019 Frontline Hospitality Award
Bob Meehan
Beauport Hotel
The Frontline Hospitality Award, given for the first time in 2012, has been designed to honor a member of the region’s frontline service ambassadors. The friendliness, knowledge and customer service of these individuals set the tone for a visitors’ stay within the region. This individual regularly goes beyond to provide excellent customer service and encourage guests
to explore the region while visiting.
2019 New Member Award
Briar Barn Inn
The New Member Award is given to a new member of the North of Boston Convention and Visitors’ Bureau that recognizes the importance of tourism within the region and has made great strides within their first years of membership to support tourism.
2019 Award of Appreciation
Diana DiZoglio
Massachusetts Senate
The Award of Appreciation is given out to those individuals who have gone above and beyond to promote tourism in Essex County.
2019 Special Recognition Award
The North of Boston CVB is proud to recognize the following municipalities for their collective leadership, compassion and perseverance
during and since the Merrimack Valley natural gas disaster in 2018.
City of Lawrence
Town of Andover
Town of North Andover

Congratulations to our 2019 Tourism Mini-Grant Recipients
Grant Recipient | Project |
Amesbury Chamber of Commerce | PowWow! Summer Series Print Brochure with web ipload |
Cape Ann Chamber of Chamber of Commerce | 2019 Cape Ann Guide + Directory |
Destination Salem | 2019 Salem Guide & Map |
Essex Agricultural Society DBA Topsfield Fair | Topsfield Fair Website Redesign Project |
Essex National Heritage Commission, Inc. | Essex Coastal Scenic Byway Website and Interactive Map |
Firehouse Center for the Arts | Firehouse Center for the Arts’ Tourism Web Development Project |
Gloucester Stage Company | Gloucester Stage Company Extended Stay Project |
Gloucester Tourism Alliance DBA Discover Gloucester | 2019-2020 Discover Gloucester Visitor Guide |
Greater Haverhill Chamber of Commerce | Greater Haverhill Visitor Guide |
Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce | 2019 Visitor and Resource Guide to Greater Newburyport |
Marblehead Chamber of Commerce | 2019 Marblehead Visitor Guide and Map |
Marblehead Museum | Marblehead Museum Website Update |
Peabody Main Streets | Peabody Visitor Guide and Map |
Rockport Chamber of Commerce, a Division of the Cape Ann Chamber of Commerce | 2019 Rockport Visitors’ Map and Guide |

2019-2020 Board of Directors
Executive Board
Jennifer Close, Chair – Peabody Essex Museum
Tami O’Brien, Vice Chair – Encompass Premiums & Apparel
James O’Brien, Treasurer – Topsfield Fair
Bethany Groff Dorau, Secretary – Historic New England
Krista Marchand, At Large – Wylie Inn & Conference Center
Karen Nascembeni, At Large – North Shore Music Theatre
Kate Fox, Immediate Past Chair – Destination Salem
Board of Directors
Matt Anzivino, Rockport Inn & Suites
Tara B. Bassett – Boston Marriott Peabody
Joe Bevilacqua – Merrimack Valley Chamber of Commerce
Jo Broderick – Montserrat College of Art
Elizabeth Carey – Discover Gloucester
Heather Dagle – 7 Seas Whale Watch
Kassandra Gove- Amesbury Chamber of Commerce & Industrial Foundation
Jeanne Hennessey – Beauport Hospitality Group
John Orlando – The Harborview Inn
Ann Ormond, Town of Andover
Gia Page – Davio’s Lynnfield
Robert Simonelli – The Landing Restaurant
Merry Ward- Salem Witch Museum
Ann Marie Casey, North of Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau – Ex Officio
New Directors
Lynne Blangiardi – Hampton Inn & Homewood Suites by Hilton Boston-Peabody
Sarah Boucher – Briar Barn Inn, a Bramble Hospitality property
Departing Directors
Julie Arrison-Bishop – The House of the Seven Gables