2023 is the (NSBF) National Scenic Byway Foundation’s 4th year of honoring the best and brightest in America’s Byways with the National Byway Organization Awards Program. This program is a great opportunity for byways around the country to learn about new ideas and possibilities from their peers around the nation.
Sharon Strouse, Executive Director of NSBF, Mark Falzone of Scenic America, Dr. Chris Sieverdes, President of NSBF, and Danielle Anderson, Byway Program Administrator for A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway
The byway organizations receiving awards in 2023 have exhibited byway best practices in communication & interpretation, conservation & stewardship, as well as improving the visitor experience along their byway.
We are thrilled to learn that our own A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway’s organization has received the 2023 Partnership Award for the Building Better Byways Conference developed between 2021-2022.
The conference, organized and funded by the Friends of A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway, Inc. through sponsorships, was the culmination of a cooperative partnership effort among key byway support organizations including the Florida Department of Transportation and the National Scenic Byway Foundation.
Kristee Booth of Florida Black Bear Scenic Byway and Bob Samuels, Treasurer of A1A At the welcoming reception
The Friends of A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway brought together representatives from Florida Scenic Highways and America’s Byways, federal and state agencies, national nonprofits, and business partners, as well as elected officials.
Mark Falzone of Scenic America (far left) poses with FSHP leadership and district representatives at the ribbon-cutting reception.
Supporting partners included the National Scenic Byway Foundation, Scenic America, the U.S. National Park Service, Florida Department of Transportation, the St. Johns County Cultural Council, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau, Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches, Visit Florida, TravelStorys, the National Travel Center, Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM NERR), Crème de la Cocoa, The White Room, Colonial Oak Music Park, St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Vilano Beach Main Street, Marineland Dolphin Adventure, and The Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Lab.
Christina Parrish-Stone, Executive Director of the St. Johns Cultural Council, one of the key partners of the event
The primary goal of the conference was to offer educational opportunities for byway leaders and managers to learn best practices to implement along their byways. The first conference day focused on the Florida Scenic Highways presentations, panels, and training sessions by the state byway coordinator Dean Stoddart, FDOT representatives and national byway experts.
Supporting partners included the National Scenic Byway Foundation, Scenic America, the U.S. National Park Service, Florida Department of Transportation, the St. Johns County Cultural Council, St. Augustine, Ponte Vedra & The Beaches Visitors & Convention Bureau, Palm Coast and the Flagler Beaches, Visit Florida, TravelStorys, the National Travel Center, Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTM NERR), Crème de la Cocoa, The White Room, Colonial Oak Music Park, St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, Vilano Beach Main Street, Marineland Dolphin Adventure, and The Sea Turtle Hospital at UF Whitney Lab.
The primary goal of the conference was to offer educational opportunities for byway leaders and managers to learn best practices to implement along their byways. The first conference day focused on the Florida Scenic Highways presentations, panels, and training sessions by the state scenic highways coordinator Dean Stoddart, FDOT representatives and national byway experts.
Dean Stoddart, FSHP State Coordinator presents.
The conference included the National Scenic Byway Foundation’s two-day Byway Leader Training Program. This comprehensive curriculum offered a rigorous itinerary of training for byway leaders across a broad spectrum of fundamental organizational and programming topics. As a result, 25 attendees received Byway Leader Training certification from the National Scenic Byway Foundation.
Dr. Maree Forbes, Sharon Strouse, and Sallie O’Hara, Executive Director, Vilano Beach Main Street; and former Byway Program Administrator of the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway
The Building Better Byways Conference is a model for state programs seeking to maximize opportunities to combine a state byway meeting with an extended learning opportunity utilizing support from public-private partnerships.
Sharon Strouse, Executive Director of NSBF, speaks about the new funding opportunities for byways across the nation at the opening reception.
Ribbon-cutting to celebrate the new All-American Road status
A highlight of the conference was the ribbon-cutting celebration with byway stakeholders for the 2021 All-American Road designation of A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway which included representatives from the offices of US Senator Rick Scott, Congressman Michael Waltz, Florida Speaker-designate Paul Renner, Florida Representative Tom Leek, Florida Senator Travis Hutson, St. Augustine City Commissioner Nancy Sikes-Kline, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, City of St. Augustine Beach Vice Mayor, City of Flagler Beach Commissioner Ken Bryan, Flagler County Commissioners Greg Hansen and Andy Dance, and St. Johns County Commission Chairman Henry Dean.
Mark Falzone of Scenic America speaks at the ribbon-cutting for the new All-American Road designation achieved by A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway.
Celebratory cake featuring the iconic lions from the bridge into St. Augustine
The 2023 Case studies are not yet posted, but should be soon! In the meantime, check out previous winning case studies to get great ideas for your local byway organization! https://nsbfoundation.com/byway-resource-library/case-studies-research/.
Learn more about A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway
See our Byway Buzz post about the 2022 Florida Scenic Highways Meeting which was a part of this vent.
See our Byway Buzz post about the 2022 NSBF Training part of this event.
