Southwest Showcase congratulates our 2022 Award winners, a leading industry peer and state-of-the-art meeting destination. These award recipients will be recognized on Wednesday, January 26 during the 2022 Southwest Showcase Luncheon.
2022 Industry Professional of the Year Award
Cindy Ferguson, CEM, CMP
Director Membership & Marketing
Texas Taxpayers & Research Association
Cindy Ferguson, CEM, CMP joined the Association of Progressive Rental Organizations in 1989, where she worked on exhibit and sponsorship sales and oversaw the annual expo. She started her volunteer work with TSAE in 1992 and has since contributed hundreds of hours to groups including ASAE, MPI, IAEE, MPI and IAEE-CTC. She is a past CEM Commission Chair, Past Chair of the International Chapter Leadership Council and Faculty Member for IAEE. In 2004 she served as Chair of IAEE-CTC. Her volunteer work includes serving on the Southwest Showcase Steering Committee from 2002 to 2006, and again from 2016 to 2019. Among her many honors and awards is the 2004 Expo Show Manager of the Year, and the 2007 IAEE Merit Award. In 2018 she joined the staff of the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association handling meetings, member engagement, and sponsorship sales. She continues to be an active contributor to the events industry in Austin.
2022 Most Exciting Meeting Destination Change
Visit Fort Worth for
Hotel Drover & Mule Alley
The opening of Hotel Drover and Mule Alley capped the first phase of the redevelopment of Fort Worth’s National Stockyards Historic District. The area was popular with visitors for the twice-daily cattle drive but was deteriorating. Without new attractions the district was not keeping up with the needs of modern meeting planners. Now Mule Alley and Hotel Drover are surrounded by unique shops, restaurants and meeting spaces. On the north side of Mule Alley, historic Cowtown Coliseum has been refreshed to provide event space in a remarkable setting where the first indoor rodeo took place a century ago. Travel & Leisure cited the development as one of the key reasons Fort Worth was named a Top 50 Destination to Visit in 2021. The project, over seven years in the making, was led by Stockyards Heritage development corporation in partnership with the Hickman family of Fort Worth and the City of Fort Worth.