Pictured from left to right:Hon. William Davis, Illinois State Representative; Ms. Courtney Avery, Administrator, Illinois Health Facilitates and Services Review Board; Hon. Rick Reinbold, President, Village of Richton Park; Ms. Tammy Valiquet; Ms. Victoria Watkins, Senior Advisor to the Mayor, City of Chicago; Ms. Samantha Fields, Budget Director, City of Chicago; Honorary Consul Fountain; Ms. Laura Farr, Director of State Affairs, Northwestern University; Mr. Clayton Harris, Executive Director, Illinois International Port District; Mr. Bruce Davis, Director, Large Customer Services, ComEd; Ms. Lisa Pilote, Treasurer, DuSable Museum; Ms. Perri Irmer, President/CEO DuSable Museum; Mr. George Knickerbocker, Village Attorney, Elk Grove Village and Hon. Craig Johnson, President, Elk Grove Village.
CHICAGO, Illinois – The Honorable Michael C. Fountain, Bahamas Honorary Consul to Chicago, and the Bahamas Tourist Office in Houston, hosted a Bahamas Sales and PR Initiative Reception on Thursday 29 November 29, 2018.
The event was produced to educate and engage Midwest jurisdiction travel professionals, elected officials, top stakeholders and key influencers regarding “all things Bahamas” and to formally announce the American Airlines proposed direct Chicago to Nassau service commencing on 22 December 22, 2018.
Notable supporters of The Bahamas in Chicago attending included: Hon. William Davis, Illinois State Representative, who sponsored the first Bahamas resolution to pass the Illinois House of Representatives; Hon. Rick Reinbold, President, Village of Richton Park, who maintains the only official sister city relationship with The Bahamas, Cat Island Constituency; and Hon. Craig Johnson, Mayor, Elk Grove Village, whose municipality is now the title sponsor for the 5th annual Bahamas Bowl, the only current NCAA bowl game played outside of the United States.
The coordinated efforts of the Bahamas Consulate Chicago and the Bahamas Tourist Office Houston are significant and impactful as Consul Fountain and Bahamas Tourism Managers Prescott Young and Dupree Smith work in concert to support initiatives which seek to increase the number of visitors to The Bahamas.
The Bahamian economy relies heavily on the tourism sector to provide employment. Tourism alone provides an estimated 51% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs about half the Bahamian workforce.
