CACIQUE AWARDED SITE FOUNDATION PARTNER OF THE YEAR
“SITE Foundation Partner of the Year is awarded to a company, enterprise, initiative or individual that, in the opinion of the SITE Foundation Board of Trustees, has made an extraordinary, above-and-beyond contribution towards the mission and vision of the foundation during the past year.”
Cacique International Ltd, The Bahamas’ premier Destination Management, Event Design, and Production Company, and their President Shawn M. Sawyer are no strangers to prestigious industry awards, but their most recent - the 2020 SITE Foundation Partner of the Year - takes it to another level. This international award is brand new, and was created specifically for Cacique’s masterful handling of SITE’s global networking event in the wake of Hurricane Dorian.
In August of 2019, with just six weeks until SITE Classic 2019 - the incentive travel industry’s top annual conference - Cacique was finalizing a knock-out itinerary at the glamorous Baha Mar, complete with buzzing networking events, sumptuous meals, and a sizzling Junkanoo party featuring dozens of performers. Then, Hurricane Dorian made landfall. As many in the incentive travel industry were writing the Bahamas off, leadership at Cacique saw an opportunity to help those in need while reaffirming the country’s appeal.
“Our DMC partner in The Bahamas, Cacique International, used their unparalleled local con- nections to create an extensive, meaningful CSR activity where our attendees could get involved and make a difference,” says Anne Digregory, SITE’s VP of Fundraising and Events. “We left The Bahamas personally and deeply enriched as a result of being able to play a part in the Hurricane Relief program.”
In the final days of event preparation, Cacique was able to connect the 300 SITE Classic attendees to local charities and aid groups, producing hundreds of volunteer man-hours, all while transcending the client’s expectations of a world-class networking event.
SITE, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, created the Partner of the Year Award largely in response to Cacique’s handling of the SITE Classic 2019. “This is a brand new award that essentially has been created for Shawn Sawyer’s exceptional work on the event,” said SITE Global CMO Padraic Gilligan, “We probably should have named the award after him.”
Mr. Sawyer, though, would resist an eponymous distinction. “In the eleventh hour, we were able to shift focus and weave effective hurricane relief into the mission of the event without sacrificing on design or customer service. I cannot overstate how humbled I feel by what we achieved for the Bahamas in its time of need. Everyone knows things like this really take a village. It’s a true family at Cacique, and I cannot accept this award on my own.”
