Visit Sugar Land Wins Silver for Best CVB/DMO in the Southwest at the 2026 Stella Awards
Visit Sugar Land has earned the Silver Medal for Best CVB/DMO in the Southwest in Northstar Meetings Group’s 2026 Stella Awards. The recognition highlights Visit Sugar Land’s service to meeting and event planners, collaboration with local hospitality partners, and enhanced destination website.
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Read Northstar’s Best CVB/DMO winners announcement for Visit Sugar Land’s profile. Northstar’s full awards announcement follows.
Northstar Meetings Group Reveals 2026 Stella Award Winners, Honoring the Best in the Events Industry
Voted on and judged by meeting professionals, Northstar’s Stella Awards recognize the world’s leading hotels, airlines, convention and conference centers, cruise lines, destination marketing organizations and destination management companies.
Source: Northstar Meetings Group | October 7, 2026
RUTHERFORD, N.J. (October 7, 2026) – Northstar Meetings Group along with its leading brands, Meetings & Conventions and Successful Meetings, today announced the recipients of the 10th Annual 2026 Stella Awards. Recognizing 243 organizations globally, these awards celebrate outstanding achievements in quality service and innovation for meeting and event professionals. The list of winners, finalists and their profiles can be found at NorthstarMeetingsGroup.com/Stellas.
Northstar's Stella Awards honor excellence across key segments of the industry, including: hotels, convention and conference centers, airlines, cruise lines, DMOs/CVBs and DMCs. This year's winners were selected from nearly 8,000 votes and a record-breaking 1,167 nominations, reflecting superior performance in overall excellence, food and beverage offerings, staff professionalism, sustainability initiatives, and other vital elements of the meetings and events experience.
Among this year's Gold Winners is Delta Airlines in the Best Airline category, a multi-year winner with extensive, industry-leading programs for group business. Margaritaville Hotels & Resorts has garnered the Gold in the Best Hotel Chain category, guided by its signature sense of “casual luxury.” The Venetian Resort Las Vegas took top honors in multiple categories, including Best Hotel/Resort, Best Décor/Design and Best Food and Beverage in the Far West region.
“The Stella Awards honor the consistent contributions of the industry’s most trusted supplier partners who set new standards for service and innovation,” said Shalise DeMott, senior vice president, U.S. for Northstar Meetings Group. “Winners are first nominated and voted on by planners, then undergo a thorough review by an esteemed panel of judges.”
The judging panel for the 2026 Stella Awards includes:
- Amy Black, CMP - Director, Experience Design & Strategic Sourcing, Creative Group
- Jennifer Collins, CMP - President & CEO, JDC Events
- Carine DesRoches - Meetings & Events Director, National Kidney Foundation
- Eli Gorin, CMM, CMP - CEO, Americas, ATS Group
- Dianne Heffernan, CMP, CITP - Chief Events Officer, CCE Global Meetings & Incentives
- Katie Karmowski - Director of Membership and Operations, Smithbucklin
- Kelly Kunz - Vice President, Operations, Brightspot Incentives & Events
- Erin Lease Hall - Director, Event Strategy and Experience, Dr. First
- Renee Martinez - Founder, WovenSmart
- Bre Maxim, CMP - Account Director, Bishop-McCann
- Ellie Soucy, CIS, CITP - President, Incentive Meeting Services LLC
- Brett Sterenson - President, Hotel Lobbyists
- Kate Wilson - Event Services Manager, MeetGreen
- DeShawn Wynn, CMP-HC - Founder and Chief Meeting Architect, Wynning Touch Event Design
- Mike Zollars - Vice President, Global Accounts, HPN Global
Two of the most popular categories among nominees and planners this year were Best Hotel/Resort Event Space and Best Renovation, demonstrating the importance of high-quality and upgraded meeting spaces, technology and amenities to event organizers and their stakeholders.
To learn about the winners of the 2026 Stella Awards, visit NorthstarMeetingsGroup.com/Stellas.
Northstar Meetings Group’s 2027 Stella Awards will open for nominations on Tuesday, November 10, 2026. Organizations are encouraged to enter early to secure the lowest rates and maximum marketing support.
About Northstar Meetings Group
Northstar Meetings Group is the leading B-to-B information and marketing solutions company serving all segments of the business meetings, events, sports and incentives market, including full- and part-time meeting planners, as well as corporate, association, sports and not-for-profit decision-makers, and incentive professionals, facilitating their professional development and achievement of business goals. The company's influential brands, Meetings & Conventions, Successful Meetings, Associations Meetings International, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Meeting News, Incentive and SportsTravel, currently serve nearly 500,000 active meeting and event planners and incentive professionals, across an integrated suite of data, digital, events and print products. For more information, please visit NorthstarMeetingsGroup.com.
Media Contact
Rebecca Roach, Northstar Travel Group, LLC
Senior Director of Marketing, Meetings Group
Cell: (914) 815-0365
Rroach@northstarmeetingsgroup.com
Download Northstar’s original 2026 Stella Awards press release (PDF)