Visit Sarasota County Will Name Jennifer Rominiecki the 2024 Voice of Sarasota

April 24, 2024 – Sarasota

National Travel and Tourism Week is an annual hospitality and tourism industry tradition that celebrates the immense value travel brings to the nation. Visit Sarasota County’s event this year will also serve as the kick-off of Savor Sarasota Restaurant Week. Each year as part of the celebration, the Visit Sarasota County Board bestows the Voice of Sarasota award as part of the celebration. This award is presented to an individual whose exceptional efforts have significantly promoted and enhanced Sarasota County as a tourism destination.

This year the Board will be honoring the 2024 Voice of Sarasota, Jennifer Rominiecki, President and CEO of Marie Selby Botanical Gardens. Since February 2015, when Rominiecki arrived at Selby Gardens, she repositioned the institution as The Living Museum ®, securing a trademark from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Enacting this new operating model has yielded increases of 128% in membership and 135% in overall earned revenues. Rominiecki has also overseen the creation and execution of a five-year Strategic Plan, a new three-year Strategic Plan, as well as an innovative Master Site Plan which included the creation of the world’s first net-positive energy restaurant. Currently, Rominiecki is serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors for VISIT FLORIDA. She also serves on the Boards of the Greater Sarasota Chamber of Commerce, the Arts and Cultural Alliance of Sarasota County, the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition, the Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida, and the Southeast Advisory Council of Lafayette College. Rominiecki lives in Sarasota with her husband, Robert, and their two boys.

The award will be presented at the National Travel and Tourism Week celebration at the Bird Key Yacht Club on Tuesday, May 14 from 4-6:30 pm. Rominiecki will join the ranks of all previous recipients of the Voice of Sarasota award which most recently include Michael Klauber (2023) and Fredrick J. Piccolo (2022). Visit Sarasota County would like to recognize the current sponsors of the event which include Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, Herald Tribune Media Group, Miles Partnership, Tiger Lily Flowers, and Kokomo Charters.