The Visitors Bureau of Highland County recently received recognition for achievement in marketing and advertising at the Ohio Travel Association’s RUBY Awards presentation held Oct. 5 at Shisler Conference Center in Wooster.

The Visitors Bureau of Highland County received a Citation of Excellence for Radio Advertisement. Accepting the award was Jamie Wheeler, executive director. Highland County was also a finalist in the following categories: Website, Promotional Video and Blog.

The Ohio Travel Association’s RUBY Awards recognize excellence in Ohio’s hospitality and tourism industry for efforts in advertising, marketing and public relations. In this year’s competition, the Recognizing Uncommon Brilliance Yearly (RUBY) Awards had 236 entries in 17 categories. The awards, sponsored by Ohio Magazine, were presented during the Ohio Conference on Travel, the state’s tourism conference for all sectors of the tourism industry.

Nine marketing professionals representing academia, consulting firms and ad agencies judged each entry on the basis of overall concept, results and creativity.

“Competition for these awards seems to grow every year, and this year was no exception. We had a record number of entries,” said Melinda Huntley, Ohio Travel Association executive director. “Winners truly represent the best of the best in marketing strategy and design. It’s inspiring.”

The Ohio Travel Association is a nonprofit trade association representing travel and tourism-related businesses throughout the state. For more information on OTA, visit www.ohiotravel.org.

Submitted by Jamie Wheeler, executive director, Visitors Bureau of Highland County.