Explore Fairbanks acknowledged the contributions of members and other individuals and organizations for their support of the local visitor industry at the 2015 Annual Awards Banquet on April 17 at the Birch Hill Recreation & Cross Country Ski Center.

Awards were presented as follows: Golden Heart Award to June Rogers, Fairbanks Arts Association, for her exceptional hospitality, commitment and effort to Fairbanks’ visitors; Aurora Award to Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Luke Hopkins, for his contributions to the development of the Fairbanks visitor industry; the Jim and Mary Binkley Award to HooDoo Brewing Co, for its creation, innovation, courage and entrepreneurialism in the introduction of a new attraction; and the Raven Award to Alaska Skylar Travel, for promoting a distinct local, statewide, national and international interest and awareness among prospective visitors.

Hilda MacDonald was given the Golden Heart Greeter of the Year Award for dedicating herself to helping make a visitor’s experience special and memorable. Staff service awards included Allison Thompson, Helen Renfrew, and Dawn Murphy for five years of service; Angie Cerny and Corinne Jankowski for seven years of service; Kasey Gillam for ten years of service; and Deb Hickok for fifteen years of service.