Members of the Sullivan County Visitors Association (SCVA) gathered at the Villa Roma Resort and Conference Center on December 5, for their annual meeting. There were quite a few comments about the type of development that may come with the establishment of a full Las Vegas-style gaming casino in the Town of Thompson.

One of the people who was honored was Tony Cellini, supervisor of the Town of Thompson, who after working hard for decades to bring a casino to his town, is retiring at the end of the year.

In accepting the award, Cellini alluded to the fact that there was some controversy about granting SCVA the contract to promote tourism in Sullivan County at the end of 2012. Some members of the legislature wanted to grant the contract to a new company called Sullivan County Tourism and Promotion (SCTP). Ultimately the contract went to SCVA.

Cellini said, “I want to commend the legislators that are here for allowing Roberta [Byron-Lockwood] and Herb [Lewis] to continue to do the excellent work that they do, and I hope that you continue to follow through because you have real professionals here and we need them to carry on in the next few years, and it’s going to be exciting here in Sullivan County.”

The 11th annual Tribute to Outstanding Associate Serving Tourism (TOAST) awards were also announced. Award recipients were Lisa Lyons of Morgan Outdoors in Livingston Manor, and Jenny Vielandi of The Country Bum’kin Arts & Collectibles in Mongaup Valley.

Lockwood ticked off a number of new initiatives planned for 2014, including the creation of an “epicurean-type festival” in August.