VisitLEX’s repurposed horse trailer-turned-mobile bar attracted a great deal of welcome attention at this year’s meeting of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), which wrapped up August 21 in Chicago.
The VisitLEX team served up Lexington Lemonade made with Woodford Reserve bourbon while showcasing the Bluegrass experience and took home the Best in Show award for its booth entry at the event, which is the largest annual convening of association meeting planners in America.
Members of the VisitLEX team pose with a "Best in Show" booth award in front of its horse-trailer-turned-bourbon-bar booth at the American Society of Association Executives meeting in Chicago. / Photo courtesy VisitLEX
In addition to the mobile bar, the booth also featured a virtual reality tour experience on a flat touchscreen, technology that was more commonly incorporated into the presentations for larger cities such as Los Angeles and Atlanta, according to Niki Heichelbech-Goldey, VisitLEX director of communications.
The showcase was a group effort, Heichelbech-Goldey added, with Lexington Convention Center, local Lexington hotels and Woodford Reserve teaming up with VisitLEX to staff the award-winning booth and bar.
Lexington's hospitality has garnered national accolades on several fronts in the past year, including its ranking as a top-ten “destination on the rise” in Trip Advisor’s Traveler’s Choice Awards and recognition as one of the “30 Most Exciting Food Cities in America” by Zagat.
This month, the Breeders’ Cup also announced its planned return to Lexington and Keeneland Race Course in 2020, as the racetrack was named as host site for the 2020 Breeders’ Cup World Championships, to be held on November 6-7.