Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau Seeks Destination’s Most Passionate Culinary Personalities

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND—The Annapolis & Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau (AAACCVB) is devoting the month of February to attracting food lovers to the destination and through the doors of member businesses. Through its Passionate Culinary Personality contest that kicked off January 5, the AAACCVB is inviting interested individuals to provide the foodies of the world with the inside scoop on the experts behind Annapolis and Anne Arundel County’s world renowned cuisine. AAACCVB President and CEO Connie Del Signore says the destination’s restaurants are among its strongest assets, and her organization wants the world to know it. “Travelers often plan their vacations around the cuisine of an area. They also choose a restaurant for its personality as much as its culinary expertise. To make it easier for foodies to find a fit that is right for them, we are on a mission to identify the individuals who bring an energy, vitality, and expertise to Annapolis and Anne Arundel County’s restaurant scene.” The CVB will accept 150-word nominations at cburke@VisitAnnapolis.org through January 12. To be eligible for consideration, nominees must be affiliated with a full-service Annapolis or Anne Arundel County restaurant. A team of independent judges will review the submissions and evaluate the candidates on the following criteria: • The level of passion the individual exudes for his or her job in the foodservice industry • The individual’s culinary knowledge • The degree to which the individual is viewed as the face of, or the personality behind, the restaurant The names of 25 finalists will be posted on the AAACCVB’s www.VisitAnnapolis.org website on January 18. The organization will use email blasts as well as Twitter and Facebook streams to encourage individuals to cast their votes through Friday, January 22. The top ten Passionate Culinary Personalities will be announced on Monday, January 25. In addition to receiving a Passionate Culinary Personality certificate, each winner will be presented with a customized chef’s jacket compliments of Sysco during an awards ceremony at Galway Bay on Monday, February 1, from 3:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. The Passionate Culinary Personality contest serves as a prelude to the AAACCVB’s February marketing campaign of the same name. Throughout the month, a video introducing the Passionate Culinary Personalities will be posted on the organization’s website and touted via Twitter and Facebook streams. The AAACCVB will also be promoting the campaign through pay-per-clicks on Google. Visitors to the AAACCVB website will be greeted by an updated homepage with links to romantic getaways, discounts and specials, an interactive map, restaurant listings, and February events, including the February 15-21 Annapolis Restaurant Week. The Passionate Culinary Personality campaign is the eighth in a series of integrated seasonal promotions that the AAACCVB has initiated to enhance brand awareness for the destination and stimulate the local economy. The AAACCVB is a nonprofit, membership-based, destination marketing organization that generates revenues for the local economy by promoting Annapolis and the Chesapeake Bay to leisure and business travelers across the country and around the world. XXX