Regional destination marketing organization also honored for campaign excellence

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Experience Grand Rapids Senior Vice President, Janet Korn, received the Communicator of the Year Award at the 2024 West Michigan Public Relations Society of America PRoof Awards in Grand Rapids last evening. The award honors a community leader who is not a PR professional but who has made outstanding contributions to West Michigan and exemplifies the practice of sound public relations.

“Open, clear and compelling communications are critically important as we market our destination to the world,” said Korn. “So, I am truly honored to be recognized by communication professionals in the region that we passionately promote on a daily basis. Thank you to my team for this nomination and to the members of the West Michigan Public Relations Society of American for this recognition.”

Janet Korn- Senior Vice President at Experience Grand Rapids

Janet Korn, Senior Vice President at Experience Grand Rapids

Photo by Mod Bettie for Experience Grand Rapids

Korn is a director at large and past president for the Michigan Association of Convention & Visitor Bureaus where she advocates for thoughtful policies and investments that advance our state’s travel economy. As president, she helped steer the organization and the state’s travel and tourism industry through the COVID crisis. She is also an active member of the Tourism Industry Coalition of Michigan.

Experience Grand Rapids also received a Silver Award in the Partnership Campaign category for its ArtPrize 2023 Marketing Campaign. The campaign, executed in partnership with ArtPrize, helped attract more than 714,000 visitors to town for the event.

“I am incredibly proud of this team,” said EXGR President and CEO, Doug Small. “Janet is an exceptional communicator and leader who, together with our marketing team, has helped develop one of the Midwest’s most successful destination marketing operations and has contributed to making Grand Rapids a global brand.”

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About Experience Grand Rapids
Established in 1927, Experience Grand Rapids (EXGR) leads the marketing of Grand Rapids/Kent County as a premier convention & visitor destination providing a significant positive impact to the West Michigan economy. Previously named the Grand Rapids/Kent County Convention & Visitors Bureau, EXGR represents the second largest city in Michigan with over one million residents.

CONTACT: Amy LeFebre, Truscott Rossman
616-450-4292, alefebre@truscottrossman.com