Three prominent Denver businessmen who helped generate tourism by virtue of their commitments to their industries are being inducted to the Denver and Colorado Tourism Hall of Fame next year.
They are: Nick LeMasters, general manager of Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Peter Meersman, CEO of the Colorado Restaurant Association, and Charlie Papazian, president of the Brewers Association.
The late singer John Denver is also to be inducted in the ceremony in March.
The inductions — the highest awards for Denver’s travel industry — were announced Thursday by Visit Denver, which books conventions and promotes the city.
A Visit Denver board member for 15 years, LeMasters has helped Cherry Creek become home to several high-profile events — The Medal of Honor Portraits of Valor exhibit among them — and served on various other boards of key business organizations.
Leading the CRA since 1989, Meersman helped grow and transform Colorado restaurants into a major tourism force. He also serves on the Visit Denver board.
Papazian and beer are synonymous throughout the world with roots going back to the creation of the American Homebrewers Association in Boulder — when brewpubs were actually illegal here. His Great American Beer Festival has become the world’s largest.
John Denver is being honored for his contributions in music and environmentalism that continue to bring attention to the Centennial State, his long-time home. Denver died in a plane crase in 1997 at the age of 53.
