Thea LaFond, an athlete and the Olympic Champion from Dominica, is set to get honored at the CMEx Leadership Awards 2024. The athlete won the first-ever Olympic gold medal while representing her nation at the Paris Olympic Games 2024. Her achievement played a significant role in boosting tourism in the region for which she is named in the list of honorees.
The CMEx Leadership Awards 2024 is set to host the honorees along with the representatives and stakeholders involved in the Caribbean tourism industry. The event will be organized on Sunday, 08 December 2024, in Miami, USA. The platform is prepared by the Caribbean Media Exchange with the support of Marketplace Excellence Corporation and other establishments.
Thea LaFond became the icon of sports in the nation of Dominica after her successful venture of the Paris Olympic Games 2024. At the age of thirty, the athlete represented her talent in the event of the triple jump. In the event, she not just performed best among all the competitors but also set a new national record while covering a distance of 15.02 meters.
The island nation of Dominica celebrated the historical achievement of Thea LaFond as a festival and situated the victory as a matter of pride for everyone. Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit himself raised a call for the entire nation to celebrate the first gold medal win and the homecoming of the athlete to honor her.
The citizens of the country celebrated the successful venture of Thea LaFond in the Paris Olympic Games 2024. The government officially arranged celebration events and Carnival to mark the importance of the historic day. The celebration started after the gold medal win and continued days after the victor came back to the nation.
The performance of Thea LaFond became a reason to highlight Dominica at several stages around the globe. The government of the nation also promoted it as a major success, that it was. The victory of the Paris Olympics and the festive vibe across the nation attracted many visitors to the region. This was seen as a significant impact on the tourism sector of Dominica as well as the Caribbean.
While recognizing her contribution to the travel and tourism industry of the Caribbean and honoring her achievement, she was added to the list of honorees of the CMEx Leadership Awards 2024. With her, officials also released the list of other honorees, whose works are significant for innovation, leadership, and development of the industry.
Other than Thea LaFond, the list contains the names of Latia Duncombe, Director General for the Ministry of Tourism in the Bahamas; Ellison Thompson, former Deputy Director General of Tourism in the Bahamas and former CEO for St Kitts Tourism Authority; Kashmie Ali, Vice President of Sales and Marketing in Sailrock South Caicos; and Victor Fernandes, Barbados Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States.
The other names on the list are Gloria and Solomon Herbert, Co-founders of Black Meetings and Tourism magazine; Dr Lisa Indar, Interim Executive Director for the Caribbean Public Health Agency; Laura Dowrich Phillips, Caribbean journalist and Public Relations Manager; and Marc Melville, CEO of Chukka Caribbean Adventures.
The newly announced honorees for the CMEx Leadership Awards 2024 are Christine Valls, Director of Sales for Latin America and the Caribbean at United Airlines; Eroline and Lyton Lamontagne, Owners of Fond Doux Eco Resort in St Lucia; and Jennifer Nugent Hill, Director of Government and Community Affairs at Tropical Shipping.
The more new honorees getting awards will be Marie McKenzie, Senior Vice President of Government and Destination Affairs at Carnival Corporation; Simón Suárez, Vice President of Grupo Puntacana; and Vanessa Ledesma, CEO of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association. All these honorees did remarkable work in the sectors of aviation, cruise, community development, and sustainable tourism.
Thea LaFond, for her achievement, got many awards, rewards, and honors, including a cash gift of four hundred thousand dollars, a 7,459 square-foot lot in Warner, the position of Sports Ambassador for Dominica, diplomatic passport, Dominica’s Highest National Honour, and more. A synthetic track facility is also announced by the government after her name.
