get your free
Visitor Guide
Past Inductees
The Denver & Colorado Travel Industry Hall of Fame was created to recognize outstanding…
Past Tourism Stars
“Tourism Star” awards are presented to organizations and attractions that had a…
Frank Day
Founder of Concept Restaurants
From founding the Old Chicago pizzeria chain to revitalizing the Hotel Boulderado, 90-year-old Frank Day has been operating restaurants for more than 50 years—and he isn’t slowing down. Over his five-decade-long career, he has operated more than 80 hospitality businesses—including Denver’s Stout Street Social across from the Colorado Convention Center and Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery on the 16th Street Mall. In September 2022 at the age of 90, he opened a Boulder brewpub, Boulder Social. Day made his foray into the Colorado food scene in 1972 with the legendary Walrus, a basement restaurant which served University of Colorado Boulder students for 46 years before closing in 2018. He opened his first Old Chicago pizzeria in 1976 and in 1980 took over the Victorian-style Hotel Boulderado. In 1990, he opened the first brewpub in Boulder, followed by the first Rock Bottom in Denver in 1991, and the first ChopHouse & Brewery in 1995, both of which developed into national chains. It is difficult to remember how revolutionary craft breweries were in the early 1990s, and Day helped establish Colorado as the craft brewing center of the nation. In 2019, Day and his wife Gina donated $1 million to Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Hospitality Program. From his hotel projects, many restaurants and philantropy, Day made a significant impact on Denver and Colorado tourism.
Bill Mosher
CEO of the Denver Convention Center Hotel Authority
Bill Mosher has served as CEO of the Denver Convention Center Hotel Authority since its inception in 2002. The non-profit Authority financed, designed, constructed, furnished and owns the 1,100-room Hyatt Regency at the Colorado Convention Center, which opened in December 2005. Mosher currently oversees Hyatt's operations on behalf of the Authority, including overseeing an upcoming major room renovation. Recently, at the end of 2023, Mosher retired from Trammell Crow Company, which he joined in 2006. He oversaw TCC’s development and investment activities in Colorado, including leading the Denver Union Station Project Authority through the development of the Denver Union Station project, the Denver Water Operations Complex Redevelopment, as well as numerous industrial, office, retail, residential and healthcare related projects across the Front Range. Mosher served as President of the Downtown Denver Partnership (DDP) from 1990-1999, a significant period in the Denver’s history which saw the opening of the Colorado Convention Center, Coors Field, Denver International Airport and Elitch Gardens. At DDP, he helped guide Downtown Denver’s rebirth by advocating, planning, managing, promoting and developing central Denver, including forming the Business Improvement District (BID) and initiating a downtown housing development strategy culminating in redevelopment plans for the Central Platte Valley. A native of Denver, Mosher has more than 45 years of experience in both the public and private sectors that have helped transform the city into a major international tourism destination.
Wilma Webb
Former Colorado State Representative Wilma Webb
As First Lady of Denver during the tenure of her husband, Denver Mayor Wellington E. Webb from 1991-2003, Wilma Webb brought a new level of appreciation for the arts to Denver. The book she inspired, Denver’s Confluence of the Arts, has been recognized as an important tool in expanding people’s perception of the myriad of resources within Denver’s art world. With her advocacy, additions to Denver’s Art Collection include Borovsky’s The Dancers, and Fernando Botero’s Man and Woman. Webb devoted her life to public service as a Colorado State Representative for thirteen years, fighting for four years for the State of Colorado to adopt the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. Her efforts to promote the arts resulted in the creation of the Denver Art, Culture, and Film Foundation in 1994. In 1998, Webb became the first woman to serve in the U.S. Department of Labor as the primary official for Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. Webb has traveled widely in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa promoting Denver and the arts. Her education includes the University of Colorado Denver and the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government. She has been honored with several national and statewide commendations, including the National Education Association’s Carter G. Woodson Award for Human and Civil Rights, The Association for Retarded Citizens Legislator of the Year Award, and the Colorado Banking Association’s Political Award. A tireless promoter of the arts, Webb was instrumental in establishing Denver as the arts capitol of the Rocky Mountain West and as one of America’s great arts centers.
Steve Sander
Denver Marketing Legend (POSTHUMOUS AWARD)
Steve Sander (known to those who met him as “Sander”) left a legacy in shaping the Mile High City’s image, both around the world and through the thousands of people he touched, befriended and helped. Working closely with four Denver mayors and as a decades-long member of the VISIT DENVER Board, he played a crucial role in the history of Denver tourism and marketing. Current U.S. Senator and former Mayor of Denver John Hickenlooper hired Sander from 2008-2012 to be Denver’s Strategic Marketing Director. “He may not have been an elected official, he may not have been a CEO, but when a lot of big decisions got made, he was in the room when it happened,” said Hickenlooper in remembrance of Sander “And many times, he was the person who made sure that the other right people were in the room when it happened. Those are qualities that are very rare in any community.”
A list of the Denver projects he worked on would include virtually everything that happened in Denver in the past 30-40 years, helping with the launch the Colorado Rockies, to handling the opening for both the Pepsi Center in 1999 and Invesco Field in 2001. Sander handled the marketing for the MLB All Star Game in 1998, the NHL All-Star game in 2001, the NBA All-Star Game in 2005 and the MLB All Star game again in 2021. He marketed some of Colorado’s most visible brands including Cherry Creek Shopping Center, The Denver Post, Denver Botanic Gardens, Water World, the Denver Nuggets and The University of Colorado. He helped bring bike sharing to Denver, and served on countless boards including VISIT DENVER’s Board of Directors, Friends of Denver Firefighters, Cherry Creek Arts Festival, Cultural Commission, Union Station Bike Hub, Live Well Marketing Advisory Committee and Step Up for Cancer Advisory Board.
Sander helped organize the SIA Snow Show, Big Air, the Colfax Marathon, and USA Pro Cycling. He brought to life campaigns for Denver B-Cycle and Hockey Capital USA. He also was instrumental in every single Denver Championship Victory Parade, bringing millions of people to downtown Denver in happiness and celebration.
It is impossible to imagine a sporting event in Denver that did not include Sander, his face glued three inches from his cell phone, his plastic bike lapel pin proudly displayed, and his smiling face as he said his trademark to his thousands of friends and supporters: “Whasssup?”