Texas Travel Industry Honors State Representative Todd Hunter with Annual Silver Spur Award
Contact: Janice Langlinais
Director of Communications
Texas Travel Industry Association
janicel@ttia.org
Phone: (512) 328-8842
(Austin, TX), January 30, 2014 – The Texas Travel Industry Association (TTIA) will present its 2014 Silver Spur Award to Texas State Representative Todd Hunter on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at TTIA’s 24th Annual Texas Tourism Unity Dinner in Austin.
The Silver Spur is awarded to public officials who have demonstrated leadership and exemplary service to the Texas travel and tourism industry. Recent past winners include: Governor Rick Perry and First Lady Anita Perry, Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst, Chairman Jim Pitts, and Speaker Joe Straus.
“This year’s award is very personal for us, as Todd has worked alongside of us for many, many years, always with a smile, and always with unwavering optimism,” said David Dunham, Chair of TTIA’s Legislative Affairs Committee. “His efforts have been not only gigantic, but also extremely effective.”
Travel and tourism is one of Texas’s largest export industries and the second largest contributor to the state’s gross domestic product. Direct spending by travelers in the state surpassed $65 billion in 2012 and directly and indirectly supported jobs for more than one million Texans, making the industry the state’s fourth largest employer.
“Residing in an area with a thriving travel & tourism industry, Chairman Hunter understands the importance of this industry, not only to the Corpus Christi area, but to the state as a whole,” said David Teel, TTIA President and CEO. “We are extremely proud to recognize Chairman Hunter with our Silver Spur Award for his leadership and influence on policy and legislation critical to our industry.”
State Representative Todd Hunter was elected to his seventh term in the Texas House of Representatives in 2012 to represent District 32 which includes Nueces County (part). During the 83rd Legislative Session, Hunter was appointed as Chair of the House Calendars Committee by Speaker Joe Straus. During his tenure, Chairman Hunter has passed legislation allowing Gulf Coast counties to use part of the hotel-motel tax it generates for tourism promotion efforts and was responsible for a law that transferred the state beach cleaning funds to the General Land Office. In 2013, Chairman Hunter became Chairman of the Legislative Tourism Caucus whose main focus is to create sound legislative policy to support and grow the state’s travel and tourism industry. He has lived in the Corpus Christi area for more than 30 years.
TTIA’s Unity Dinner will be held at the Austin Convention Center on Tuesday, March 25, 2014 at 7:30pm. Approximately 800 attendees are expected, including travel industry professionals from across the state, state legislators, mayors, and city council members.
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TTIA is a non-profit organization made up of businesses, organizations, associations and individuals dedicated to making Life Better in a State of Travel. TTIA’s mission is to unify and develop industry leadership that will support and influence the growth of Texas travel and tourism. For more information about the Texas Travel Industry Association, visit www.ttia.org or contact the office in Austin at (512) 328-8842.
