SUNsational Service Courtesy Awards
We hope to see you on Thursday, Dec 6 for the annual holiday-themed Courtesy Awards luncheon at the Broward Convention Center, as frontline hospitality employees are recognized for going above and beyond and providing superior guest service. Please rsvp to kcanter@broward.org

Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2007
Join us for the 2007 Broward County Sports Hall of Fame honoring Broward's sports legends, Tuesday, December 11 at the Broward County Convention Center. Class of 2007: Fred Turner - Sports Journalist, Rick Tucci - Wrestling, Errict Rhett - Football, Greg Samuel - Basketball, Earl Weaver - Baseball, June Krauser - Swimming. We will kick off the festivities with a cocktail reception and silent auction. Please contact Saskia Fisher, sfisher@broward.org

October bed tax numbers
Preliminary Broward County unaudited bed tax collections for October 2007 were $2,763,369, an increase of 3.6% over 2006.

Convention Center anchor hotel
Broward County is in negotiations with Hilton to build a 1,000-room headquarters hotel for the Broward County Convention Center. Hilton's plan is for a 27-story building, designed by Arquitectonica, rising in a series of waves toward the waterfront. All rooms will have a view of the Intracoastal Waterway. The hotel will include an infinity-edge pool overlooking the water, outdoor dining, spa and ballroom and meeting space is also planned. The Hilton hotel is expected to be a silver-certified LEED project (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System) for its commitment to protection and enhancement of the environment. The hotel is scheduled to open in 2012.

Upcoming Media Visits
This month, the PR department welcomes media from around the globe. The International Conference for Gay & Lesbian Travel media fam includes Dallas Voice; Edge Publications; HX Magazine; Instinct Magazine; Next Magazine; Out-Front Colorado; Passport; The Advocate; The Express Gay News. French-Italian Media Fam (Dec. 7-11) follows with Univers des Voyages; Cup Legend/ Cahiers de Voyage; Vacances Pratiques, Vacances de Luxe; Guida Viaggi; Travel Quotidiano. The German Media Fam (Dec. 13-17) welcomes Tagesspiegel; Themendienst; Südwest-Presse; Nürnberger Nachrichten/Nürnberger Zeitung; Volksstimme; Reisemagazin (Arbeitsgemeinschaft Westfälische Tageszeitung). Visits from The London Times; Logo; and Delta Sky round out the rest of the month.

Winterfest Boat Parade sails downtown
Get ready for this year's parade on Saturday, Dec. 15. After 35 years, the Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade is changing its route and will now sail from the New River in downtown Fort Lauderdale. The change in the parade route will present the opportunity for an estimated 250,000 additional live viewers, which brings the event well over one million.The new staging area starts the parade route west of Broward Performing Arts Center, past Esplanade Park stretching to Las Olas Riverfront, then traveling east from Sailboat Bend to connect with its previous route along the Intracoastal Waterway and continue north to Lake Santa Barbara in Pompano Beach. The Grand Marshal Showboat – the Grand Floridian 125 ft, five deck mega yacht that will host 400 passengers along with this year’s Grand Marshal, Lorraine Bracco of The Soprano's fame. www.winterfestparade.com

December Convention Sales Update
Groups meeting in December generate more than $4 million to Broward County. Sample groups include:
Dec 2-5: International Conference on Gay & Lesbian Tourism
Dec 2-5: Intertech Consulting, Conferences & Studies - Smart Fabrics 2007
Dec 3-6: Broward County Navy League 20th Anniversary of the Commissioning of the USS Leyte Gulf
Dec 3-7: Business Intelligence at Work
Dec 4-11: Osteo Arthritis Research Society International
Dec 5-6: The College Board Counselor Leadership Conference
Dec 8-13: Consumer Specialty Products Association
Dec 9-16: National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts
Dec 12-13: National Paper Packaging Credit Group
Dec 26-29: Traditional Chinese Culture Show
Dec 29-Jan 10: Thomson Scientific & Healthcare 2008

Sport Lauderdale
Greater Fort Lauderdale welcomes the following sports groups in December, with more than 100,000 competitors plus family and friends:
Nov 29-Dec 2: American Soccer Jr. Classic (2,800 attendees)
Dec 7-9: USAG State Championships (400 attendees)
Dec 7-9: Dixie Amateur - Senior/Super Senior Tour (350 attendees)
Dec 13-16: Kwik Goal Sports Sales Marketing (100 attendees)
Dec 13-16: NE Rugby Classic (3,800 attendees)
Dec 19-Jan 15: 72nd Annual College Swim Coaches Forum (11,000 attendees)
Dec 26-31: Hofball Christmas Classic (2,500 attendees)
Dec 28-Jan 2: Fed Ex Orange Bowl Football (50,000 attendees)
Dec 27-30: Orange Classic Girls Soccer (9,500 attendees)
Dec 28-30: College Citrus Wrestling Invite (3,000 attendees)
Dec 29-30: Orange Bowl Basketball Classic (8,000 attendees)

Hotel News
The Crowne Plaza Hollywood Beach is now open, with 311 rooms and meeting space along the Intracoastal Waterway. The 105-suite Il Lugano along the Intracoastal in Fort Lauderdale will open in January 2008. Hyatt Place in Fort Lauderdale and Plantation (fomerly Amerisuites) are both now completely renovated under the new flag..

Hooray for Hollywood
The Downtown Hollywood CRA was recognized by the Florida Redevelopment Association with the 2007 President's Award for "Best Capital Projects/Beautification" for the ArtsPark at Young Circle. The newest addition to the park is the Visual Arts Pavilion, which celebrates its grand opening on Dec 7-9 with live entertainment, activities and art demos. The two-story facility includes art studios and workshops, an exhibition lobby and dance studio.

All aboard the HOT Express! Hollywood CRA Launches Trolley Service for Hotel Guests
Visitors staying on Hollywood Beach will be able to catch a scenic ride to and from the Historic Downtown District and the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk aboard a state-of-the-art circulator trolley service scheduled to launch on Thursday, December 13 and operate through April 27. The 28-passenger HOT Express trolleys are equipped with DVD players and feature a “hospitality greeter” who informs riders about dining, entertainment, attractions, special events and historical points of interest in Hollywood. The HOT Express will run four days a week: Thurs-Fri, 5pm-1am; Sat, noon-1am; and Sun, noon-9pm. Roundtrip fare is $1 for adults and accompanied children under 12 ride free. Call 954-980-9777 or visit www.VisitHollywood.org.

South Florida Hospitality Industry Holiday Party
Mark your calendars for Thursday, December 6 for the "Denim & Diamonds" South Florida Hospitality Industry Party, 6pm at Revolution in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Major associations, including HSMAI, SITE, MPI and ISES will be participating. www.southfloridaindustryholidayparty.com

The Plane Facts: FLL News
Business travelers have ranked Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport in the top 10, according to the latest Conde Nast Traveler's annual business travel awards. Spirit added service to Aruba and Freeport in November and American began service to Port Au Prince, Santo Domingo, and San Jose in December. JetBlue started service to Buffalo, Syracuse and Ponce, PR in November and begins service from Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham on January 10. Spirit also started service from Ponce in November, and Skybus Airlines begins new service to Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point area of North Carolina in January.

Allegiant Air New Service
FLL welcomes Allegiant Air to the family of low-cost carriers with direct services to regional markets. New, nonstop service to FLL includes:
Allentown, PA; Greensboro, NC; Greenville, SC; Knoxville, TN; Huntington, WV; Plattsburgh, NY; Triad (Tri Cities, TN), begins Dec 12; Chattanooga, TN, begins Dec 13; Peoria, IL, begins Dec 13; Rockford, IL, begins Dec 14; Fort Wayne, IN, begins Dec 14. Visit www.allegiantair.com

Happenings Around Town
Through Dec 23: Talk Radio, Mosaic Theatre, Plantation
Through Dec 30: Gators and Gardenias exhibition, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society
Through Jan 6: Florida, Then and Now, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society
Through Jan 27: Native Art Now, Art & Culture Center of Hollywood
Through Feb 1: The Angels Exhibition 2007 Purvis Young, Grace Gallery & Studios, Dania Beach
Dec 1: 6th Annual Holiday Classic Car Show & Street Fair, Fort Lauderdale
Dec 1-2: The Chocolate Nutcracker, Parker Playhouse
Dec 1-2: Radio City Christmas Spectacular starring The Rockettes, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 4: Christmas by the Sea, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea
Dec 4: Dave Koz and Friends, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 5: Florida Panthers vs Ottawa Senators, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 6: Tony Bennett, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 6-9: A Christmas Carol, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 7-9: Dixie Amateur Golf Invitational Championship, Palm-Aire Country Club, Pompano Beach
Dec 7: Florida Panthers vs NY Islanders, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 8: Hollywood Beach Candy Cane Parade, Hollywood Broadwalk
Dec 8: Keith Urban, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 8-9: The Nutcracker, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 11: South Florida Chanukah Festival, Gulfstream Park
Dec 11: Florida Panthers vs Calgary Flames, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 11-12: Andrea Bocelli, Hard Rock Live
Dec 12: Freddy Cole Quartet, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 13: Jethro Tull, Hard Rock Live
Dec 14: Second City's Dysfunctional Holiday Revue, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 15: Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade
Dec 15: Joy Behar, Coral Springs Center for the Arts
Dec 15: Y-100 Jingle Ball, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 16: Pompano Beach Holiday Boat Parade
Dec 19: Fort Lauderdale Gay Men's Chorus, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 20: Florida Panthers vs Carolina Hurricanes, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 21-23: George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, Miami City Ballet, Broward Center for the Performing Arts
Dec 22: Florida Panthers vs Toronto Maple Leafs, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 26: Chris Brown & Bow Wow, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 28: Florida Panthers vs Montreal Canadiens, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 29: MetroPCS Orange Bowl Basketball Classic, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 30: Florida Panthers vs Philadelphia Flyers, BankAtlantic Center
Dec 30-31: OceanDance 2007, Hollywood Beach
Dec 31: Robert Schimmel, Parker Playhouse
Dec 31: Kwanzaa Kuumba Celebration, Bass Park, Fort Lauderdale

With all best wishes,

Nicki E. Grossman
President