Legendary music producer and Fort Worth native T-Bone Burnett will be the keynote speaker at Visit Fort Worth’s annual meeting in 2020, set for Friday, Feb. 14.
Burnett has worked and collaborated with musicians across many genres including Elton John, Robert Plant, Alison Krauss, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, k.d. lang, Elvis Costello, The Civil Wars, Taylor Swift, Ryan Bingham, Steve Earle and Leon Russell. Burnett’s work in film scores include The Big Lebowski, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Cold Mountain, The Hunger Games, Walk The Line, Inside Llewyn Davis and Crazy Heart, and television shows True Detective and Nashville.
The event aking a cue from the day, love for Fort Worth will be in the air throughout the event, which will take place 7:30-9 a.m. on Friday, February 14, 2020, at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. Tables and seats are on sale at FortWorth.com/annual.
Mayor Betsy Price will receive Visit Fort Worth’s annual Hospitality Award for her efforts to promote the city. A new service award will recognize an outstanding employee working for a hotel, attraction or other organization that welcomes visitors.
The event will highlight action on the Destination Master Plan, a roadmap for tourism in the city. Progress in sports, marketing, conventions, music and filmmaking are growing Fort Worth’s $9.4 billion visitor economy, according to the Visit Fort Worth news release.
“From the new Dickies Arena to the renovated Stockyards, Fort Worth is giving visitors more reasons to see Fort Worth,” said Bob Jameson, president and CEO of Visit Fort Worth. “With consistent visitor growth, we now need to help more people stay longer and spend more.”
Major landmarks in the visitor economy lie ahead in 2020, including:
• Beginning of design work on the Fort Worth Convention Center expansion
• Nationally televised sporting events at Dickies Arena
• Unprecedented hotel growth Downtown and in the Stockyards
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The annual Hospitality Award spotlights individuals and organizations who promote Fort Worth and help grow the visitor economy. Mayor Price, serving her fifth term, has logged tens of thousands of miles selling Fort Worth for tourism and economic development.
“Our local economy has benefited from the growth in tourism under Mayor Price’s leadership,” said Rosa Navejar, chairman of the Visit Fort Worth Board of Directors. “We want to recognize her efforts promoting Fort Worth around the world and improving our reputation as a healthy, active city.”
The organization’s seventh annual breakfast is presented by Fine Line Group, the Family Office of Sasha & Ed Bass, along with Sundance Square and the Henry S. Miller Company. Pinnacle Bank returns for its fifth year as presenting sponsor.
Supporting sponsors include DFW Airport, Tri-Hawk Audio-Visual, Hotel Drover and the Fort Worth Public Library Foundation.