CRANBERRY TWP — The tourism industry in Butler County is doing well, and several hundred people gathered to celebrate that fact Thursday night.

Called the Toast to Tourism, the annual dinner highlights the tourism industry in the county. It was hosted by the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau at the Regional Learning Alliance.

Bureau President Jack Cohen welcomed attendees to the dinner that featured food that was all locally sourced and produced.

Cohen talked about the economic impact of tourism.

“Butler County is really lucky,” he said. “Tourism brought $579 million here in 2012. That’s amazing.”

Cohen highlighted many of the venues that keep attracting tourists, and he singled out Cooper’s Lake campground at the top.

It is the site for the annual Bantam Jeep Heritage Festival, one of the largest attractions in the county. He also praised Cooper’s Lake for hosting the national fireworks convention last year, an event that he said brought in more than $4 million to the local economy.

Attractions like that bring people to the county, he said, and sometimes they end up staying.

“You’d be surprised at how many people visit here and move here, start families here and open businesses here,” Cohen said. “That’s what tourism is all about.”

Cohen also took time to thank his board, “an absolutely amazing group of people” who spearhead tourism in the county.

Rodney Schaffer, chairman of the board, praised the county for being a place of diversity.

For instance, he said, it’s easy to find yourself in the middle of a rural community like Saxonburg, only to travel to the “busy and bustling” Cranberry Township.

That kind of dichotomy between rural and suburban allows the county, its residents and their businesses to flourish in many ways, he said. And it allows for tourists to pursue a variety of activities here.

As is customary at every Toast to Tourism, the tourism bureau awarded grants to businesses and venues to help them promote themselves.

The bureau this year received 38 applications for grants and awarded seven totaling nearly $30,000 combined.

The grants were awarded to the Big Butler Fair for marketing purposes, Get Fit Families for marketing, the Maridon Museum for a capital improvement project, Kelly Automotive Park for an electrical service upgrade and widening of field gates, Step Back in Time for marketing and a capital improvement project, Rodfathers of Butler for marketing and the North Washington VFD Rodeo for handicap accessible ramps.

The tourism bureau also honored retiring state Rep. Dick Stevenson, a “huge advocate” of the tourism bureau during his 13 years in office, according to board member Paul Lueken.

He called Stevenson a “true gem” who always made time for the bureau.

The group also thanked state Sen. Bob Robbins, who’s also been a big supporter of tourism during his 24 years in office.