Grant money totaling $50,000 was awarded to Butler County tourism businesses and organizations Thursday evening at the Butler County Tourism and Convention Bureau’s annual Toast to Tourism event.

More than 160 people attended the event, which honored the 15 grant winners. Grant money is allocated each year to organizations that promote tourism in Butler County, and this year, 34 applications were submitted.

Grants were awarded to:

- Saxonburg Area Business Association to promote Saxonburg’s the 185th anniversary celebration this July.

- SurfSUP Adventures of Natrona Heights for the production of a film at Moraine State Park on stand up paddleboarding.

- Butler Downtown for a consultant to help plan for improvements to the city’s streetscapes.

- Regatta at Lake Arthur for bleachers for the DockDogs show, a canine aquatics competition that will be a new event at the regatta this year.

- Butler Little Theatre for the installation of air conditioning to allow for summer show performances.

- Get Fit Families in Cranberry Township for marketing the Get Fit Families Race Series and running camps.

- Buttercup Woodlands Campground for promoting all of the area’s campgrounds in the Pennsylvania Campground Owners Association directory.

- Derailleur Bike Shop in Butler for converting an apartment into a vacation rental along the Butler-Freeport Community Trail.

- City of Butler for the funding the first Butler Italian Festival planned for Labor Day weekend this year.

- Hotel Saxonburg for preservation and structural improvements to the historic building.

- Zanella Milling Inc. for providing a breakfast at the mill to guests attending the 2017 Farm Show.

- Pinehall at Eisler Farms for hosting a brunch during the 2017 Farm Show.

- Moraine Preservation Fund to place an observation camera near the Osprey nesting area at Moraine State Park.

- Butler Radio Network for promotion of the Grass Roots Music Festival in July at Cooper’s Lake in Slippery Rock.

- Glade Run Lake Conservancy for the addition of benches for fishing at the lake.

Tourism Ambassador of the Year

For a second year, the bureau named a Tourism Ambassador of the Year. This year’s recipient was Kathy Allen of Armstrong Farms Bed and Breakfast in Saxonburg.

The award is given to an individual who has gone above and beyond as a tourism advocate.

The bureau also launched the Butler County Service Excellence Award, a countywide customer service awards program. The overall goal of the new program is to cultivate an environment of excellent customer service.

The program will recognize employees throughout the county who create positive customer experiences and go above and beyond expectations.

The program will provide service training resources for businesses to create a culture of service among their employees. The training will be held May 23 at the Regional Learning Alliance in Cranberry Township.

Scholarships were awarded to Slippery Rock University students Courtney McCalmont of Harrisville, a communications-integrated marketing major, and Angela Delune of Cranberry Township, a resort, recreation and hospitality management major; and Butler County Community College student Meghan Steel of Mars, a hospitality management major.