"Hall of Fame" Award Winners Announced
HONORS THE "BEST OF THE BEST" WITHIN THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY. 

The 2018 "Best of the Best" was held at the Convention Center sponsored by the City, the Convention Center & Palm Springs Tourism Bureau, Palm Springs Hospitality Association and PS Resorts. At the gala held Tuesday, October 9, restaurants, large and small hotels, vacation rental agencies and retail stores nominate their employees to be honored and a winner for each of about 20 categories is presented with a "Golden Palm Award."

The final announcement of the night is the "Hall of Fame" award which is secretly decided by a Nomination Committee that this year consisted of Aftab Dada (Managing Director/Hilton Hotel and President of the Palm Springs Hospitality Association), Tony Bruggemans (GM/Le Vallauris Restaurant), James Canfield (Exec. Dir/PS Convention Center & Bureau of Tourism), Mary Jo Ginther and Kara Walker (PS Bureau of Tourism).

Previous winners of this award include Sonny Bono, Mayor Frank Bogart, Mary Delgado (Founder of Las Consuelas Restaurants), Aftab Dada and many other well-known figures with decades in the Palm Springs hospitality industry.

For the final presentation of the evening, Mr. Bruggemans came to the podium and started talking about Palm Springs vacation rentals. He mentioned the co-founders of Vacation Rental Owners and Neighbors of Palm Springs (VRON-PS), then the "We Love Palm Springs" campaign and elaborated on Measure C. He stated, "This year’s recipients have made a lasting contribution to our tourism community, and their efforts will affect each one of us and our businesses for years to come." He concluded with, "To Bruce and David, we thank you. Most of us here tonight work in the hospitality field, and without vacation home rentals, many of us would not have these jobs. None of us would  be able to enjoy all the amenities of a world-class destination within our small city."

Needless to say, David and Bruce had no advanced knowledge this was coming and were surprised and deeply grateful. In the 18-year history of this special award, it has never been given to anyone in the vacation rental industry. They wish to thank all of you who believed, joined and participate in VRON-PS, not to mention the Mayor and the City Council, small and large hotels, inns, business associations, business owners, hundreds of contributions, volunteers, and all those bright orange signs.  

And yes, David received an identical statue with his name on it.  Full text of Mr. Bruggeman's introduction for the Hall of Fame award:

David Feltman, Presenter Tony Bruggemans and Bruce Hoban