Lewis H. Dawley, III, SMG Regional Vice President of Convention Center Operations and Business Development, has been selected to receive the 2011 APEX Award for Distinguished Service. The award is presented by Black Meetings & Tourism Magazine to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to tourism and travel. The award will be presented during the Travel Professionals of Color's (TPOC) 9th annual conference, on Friday, May 13, 2011 at the Galt Hotel in Louisville, KY.
“SMG is really pleased to see Lew receive this industry recognition. Lew is a senior member of our Convention Center Management Team and is very deserving of this award. All of us at SMG congratulate Lew on this accomplishment,” said SMG President and CEO Wes Westley.
Dawley is an accomplished veteran of more than 30 years in the convention center industry. He has been with SMG since 2003, where he serves as a senior consultant of convention center operations and labor relations, and also currently as General Manager of the Albuquerque Convention Center. Prior to joining SMG he was General Manager and CEO of the Washington Convention Center Authority, Washington D.C. Dawley is one of a handful of industry experts to manage the planning, construction and grand opening of four convention centers. Before Washington, he served as the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority's general manager, where he developed a strategic operational plan for the opening of the 1.3 million-square-foot facility and directed day-to-day operations. He also opened and operated the COBO Convention/Exhibition Center in Detroit, where he was General Manager from 1977 to 1989, and the Minneapolis Convention Center, where he was Director of Operations from 1989 to 1991.
Dawley is a member of several professional organizations including the International Association of Assembly Managers, the National Association of Exposition Managers, and the National Coalition of Black Meeting Planners.
