Discover Black Cville Wins Adrian Award From Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention and Visitors Bureau (CACVB) is excited to announce that Discover Black Cville, a community-led initiative, has received a bronze Adrian Award from the Hospitality, Sales & Marketing Association International (HSMAI). This prestigious international award recognizes the CACVB’s diversity, equity, and inclusion marketing efforts through Discover Black Cville. The Adrian Awards celebrate the very best in hospitality advertising, public relations and communications efforts, and integrated marketing campaigns. The award was presented at the annual Adrian Awards celebration on Thursday, February 23, in Los Angeles. Courtney Cacatian, Executive Director of the CACVB, and Jawara King, steering committee member for Discover Black Cville, were in Los Angeles to receive the award. A selection of images from the awards ceremony can be found here.

This big win for Discover Black Cville comes slightly less than two years after its initial debut to the local community in spring 2021 and less than a year since its national launch in March 2022. Shortly after its national launch, Discover Black Cville received national recognition from the U.S. Travel Association by winning a Destiny Award at the ESTO tourism conference in August 2022. Born from an idea in 2020, Discover Black Cville began with a series of collaborative listening sessions, with dozens of community members taking part in the initial conversations. Since that time, Discover Black Cville has grown into a nationally and internationally recognized initiative for our community's accomplishments. Discover Black Cville’s mission is to tell modern, historically accurate, and inclusive Black stories from Charlottesville and Albemarle County, with these stories being told by Black people instead of about Black people. These efforts are guided by a steering committee of engaged community members.

“I cannot be more thrilled that the CACVB’s Discover Black Cville initiative has been recognized internationally among the best in travel and hospitality marketing with competition spanning hotels, marketing agencies and destination marketing organizations from around the world,” said Courtney Cacatian, Executive Director of the CACVB. "This success is only made possible by those who believed in this effort and continue to come to the table to help it grow.”

"It was an honor to represent Discover Black Cville in Los Angeles for the Adrian Awards," said Jawara King, a member of the Discover Black Cville steering committee. "Working with community leaders to improve equity and visibility has been a great experience with both challenging and fulfilling moments. As a steering committee member, it was inspirational to see all the award-winning entries and gain insight into other ongoing efforts aimed at improving national reach and benefitting communities. We have a great opportunity in Charlottesville and Albemarle County."

Discover Black Cville has led to larger conversations that now include a “Tourism For All” initiative to attain community alignment and a destination-wide inviting experience for all visitors. These conversations have created new partnerships and business opportunities, often for people from historically excluded backgrounds.

For more information about Discover Black Cville, visit its official website and follow its official social media accounts on Facebook and Instagram.

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About Discover Black Cville

The mission of Discover Black Cville is to tell modern, historically accurate, and inclusive Black stories in Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Stories told by Black people instead of about Black people.


About the Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau

The Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Visitors Bureau (CACVB) welcomes thousands of visitors to the region each year from all over the world who are seeking a variety of unique experiences in history, food, wine, spirits and adventure. The CACVB serves as the global resource for marketing the tourism assets of the City of Charlottesville and County of Albemarle, and assists tour operators, meeting planners, and other groups in planning visits to the destination. The CACVB’s mission is to enhance the economic prosperity of the people of the City and County by promoting, selling and marketing the area as a destination, in pursuit of the meetings and tourism markets.