2026 Governor's Tourism Rising Star Award nomination form

2026
Governor's Tourism
Rising Star
Award Nomination Form

The GOVERNOR'S TOURISM RISING STAR AWARD recognizes an individual who has worked in the South Dakota tourism industry for at least two years (but not more than four) and is excelling at their job; demonstrates a curiosity, passion and vision for the growth of the industry and its importance to our state's future development; is engaged in the industry at the local and state levels; and, as a rising star, is a person who will make a positive difference to our industry in the years to come. The first award was presented in 2022.

The 2026 award will be presented on Thursday, January 22, at the 2026 South Dakota Governor's Conference on Tourism in Pierre.

Nominations are due no later than Tuesday, November 18, 2025.

1. Nominee contact information: *This question is required.

First Name
Last Name
Full Address
Business Name

2. Nominee qualifications: *This question is required. Please include specific details about what qualifies your nominee for the Rising Star Award.

If you prefer uploading a Word doc or other supporting documentation, please do so here. Up to three files are accepted. Max file size for each is 2 MB. File types allowed are png, gif, jpg, jpeg, doc, xls, docx, xlsx, pdf, txt, mov, mp3, mp4.

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3. Number of years the nominee has been in the tourism industry:

years

4. Nominator contact information: *This question is required.

First Name
Last Name
Business Name
Business Address
Phone
Email

5. Nominator conference attendance: *This question is required.Do you, the nominator, plan to attend the Governor's Conference on Tourism in Pierre in January?