Visit Fort Wayne was proud to receive two prestigious awards from the Indiana Tourism Association.
Visit Fort Wayne news release:
Visit Fort Wayne Receives Two State Tourism Awards for Events Hosted in 2025
Fort Wayne, Indiana (April 8, 2026) — Visit Fort Wayne was proud to receive two prestigious awards from the Indiana Tourism Association at their recent Indiana Tourism Conference—Best Meeting/Group Partnership for the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Society’s (IAJGS) Annual Conference in partnership with the Allen County Public Library and the Grand Wayne Convention Center, and Best Sports Partnership Award for the World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Cup in partnership with Turnstone.
Best Meeting/Group Partnership
Beating out dozens of events from around the state, the IAJGS Annual Conference was chosen due to the strong partnerships that made the event happen, prestige of event, services offered, associated activities, and more.
The opportunity to pursue this event originated in 2021, when ACPL brought forward interest in hosting IAJGS based on the organization’s alignment with the Genealogy Center’s mission and audience. Visit Fort Wayne worked with ACPL and the Northeast Indiana Jewish Genealogy Society (NEIJGS) to develop a comprehensive and competitive bid. NEIJGS played a crucial role by committing a significant financial contribution toward hosting and reinforcing strong local buy-in and community investment for conference planners. This collaborative demonstrated Fort Wayne’s willingness to support the conference both operationally and financially.
The audience included genealogy professionals, researchers, historians, and enthusiasts from all over the world. The collaborative vision was not only to host the conference successfully, but to create a lasting impression that would elevate Fort Wayne’s profile within the genealogy community and encourage repeat visitation to the Genealogy Center and future industry events.
The event welcomed approximately 580 attendees from across the United States and around the world, reinforcing Fort Wayne’s ability to host internationally attended conferences.
From an economic standpoint, the conference generated 1,310 actualized room nights across the destination and resulted in an estimated $621,000 in economic impact for Fort Wayne.
Best Sports Partnership Award
The Best Sports Partnership category, sponsored by Team Indiana, focused on a single or multi-day sports event that showcased community partnership and collaboration from start to finish, volunteer involvement, community impact, collateral created, and return on investment. The World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Cup led hundreds of events around the state to be chosen for this award.
Throughout the collaboration on this event, Turnstone and Visit Fort Wayne intentionally enhanced the athlete and spectator experience, from hospitality training and accessible accommodations to engaging media personnel and local athletes, ensuring the event not only met but exceeded expectations while reinforcing Fort Wayne as a hub for adaptive sports on the international stage. The following are examples of some of the efforts put forth by the partnership for this event:
Hotel & Hospitality Partner Training: A virtual training webinar, led by a Certified ADA Coordinator, including cultural awareness instruction, was provided to all host hotels and hospitality partners. More than 150 staff participated and received an “Accessibility Ambassador” button to wear throughout the two-week event.
International Delegation Opening Ceremony: Hosted a welcome ceremony in partnership with the Grand Wayne Convention Center highlighting inclusive Hoosier Hospitality. By prioritizing this previously overlooked element by other host destinations, the event offered an elevated and memorable experience for all attendees.
City Proclamation: The Fort Wayne Mayor officially designated October 11th International Sitting Volleyball Day, celebrating the sport’s inclusivity and recognizing Fort Wayne as a leader in adaptive athletics.
Media Day: A first-of-its-kind immersive demonstration introduced regional media to sitting volleyball, fostering deeper understanding and excitement for the sport ahead of the tournament.
Local Adaptive Athlete Representation: Fort Wayne is home to U.S. Youth Sitting Volleyball National Team athlete Cami Wood, creating a direct link between the host city and elite international competition. Bringing this high-level volleyball to the United States provided greater exposure for the sport, inspiring local athletes, elevating awareness of sitting volleyball, and reinforcing Fort Wayne as a hub for aspiring Paralympians.
The 2025 Sitting Volleyball World Cup delivered record-breaking economic impact for a single adaptive sports event, international exposure, and long-term community value. Over seven days, the event welcomed more than 500 delegates from over 40 countries, including 20 men’s and women’s national teams. The competition concluded memorably with the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball Team, three-time reigning Paralympic gold medalists, claiming gold on home soil after a hard-fought, five-set match.
As a result, the World Cup generated an estimated $1.3 million in direct impact for Allen County and produced nearly 2,500 hotel room nights.
About Visit Fort Wayne
Visit Fort Wayne, the Fort Wayne/Allen Country Convention and Visitors Bureau, is the not-for-profit organization whose purpose is to expand Fort Wayne’s economy by attracting convention and leisure visitors. Each year, millions of dollars from visitor spending generate increased commerce, sustained jobs and enhancement of Fort Wayne’s Image.
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