Susan L. Hamo Friend of the Industry Award

Who Was Susan L. Hamo?

Susan L. Hamo

President & CEO, Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau (1993–2016)

Susan L. Hamo was a visionary leader whose career helped define and elevate Ohio’s travel and tourism industry. Rising through the ranks of the Akron/Summit Convention & Visitors Bureau, she was appointed President & CEO in 1993 and, just two years later, assumed leadership of the entire organization when the operations of the John S. Knight Center and the bureau were unified. Her tenure marked a period of innovation, growth, and unrelenting advocacy for the power of tourism to drive economic vitality and community development.

Hamo was a passionate coalition-builder and an influential voice at the local, state, and national levels. She served as President of the Ohio Travel Association (OTA), the Ohio Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus (OACVB), and the International Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, bringing strategic insight and a collaborative spirit to every role. Her appointment as a delegate to the White House Conference on Travel and Tourism and her induction into the Association of Ohio Commodores by executive order of Governor John Kasich further underscored her standing as a respected leader in the industry.

Throughout her career, Hamo received some of the highest honors in Ohio tourism, including the Donald L. Patterson Award of Excellence from OACVB and the Paul Sherlock Award from OTA. In recognition of her outstanding contributions, OACVB renamed its most prestigious honor the Susan L. Hamo Friend of the Industry Award. This accolade is presented annually to individuals who embody her integrity, pioneering spirit, and enduring commitment to advancing Ohio’s travel economy.

Susan L. Hamo’s legacy lives on through the partnerships she forged, the institutions she strengthened, and the countless professionals she mentored and inspired along the way.

Are not necessarily directly involved in the tourism industry, although still have greatly assisted and boosted it. This award is not given out annually, rather it is reserved to honor an individual based on his or her merits.