Senator Elsie Lacy
Tourism Star Award Recipient — 2000
Senator, State of Colorado (1993 – 2000)
Tourism is the second largest industry in Colorado and yet Colorado is the only state in the nation without a state-funded tourism office. Senator Lacy is changing that. Starting in 1997, she was responsible for tourism promotional funding being added to the State’s annual budget with $2.1 million in 1997, $1 million in 1998 and $5 million in 1999. She is the Senate sponsor of HB1224 which will combine the Colorado Travel & Tourism Authority and the Colorado Tourism Board into one new agency, the Colorado Tourism Office. This will create one official state tourism office for Colorado for the first time since 1993. A native of Las Animas and a State Senator since 1992, Elsie Lacy is currently chairman of the Joint Budget Committee and Chairman of the Appropriations Committee.
The profile of each Tourism Star is reflective of the time of the award.