March 22. The late John Kurti, a long-time Cornelius resident and businessman, posthumously received the “Unsung Hospitality Hero” at the Visit Lake Norman annual meeting.
He was a founding member of the VLN board of directors and served on the board for more than 16 years.
The Unsung Hero award will be renamed in his honor, said Sally Ashworth, executive director of the convention and visitors bureau, which is based in Cornelius.
Kurti, 72, was a fixture at the Rotary Club of North Mecklenburg. He passed away after a luncheon meeting in January. Kurti was also one of the longest-serving members of the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. He opened Mailboxes Etc. back in the 1990s, which later morphed into the UPS Store.
He was a mentor to many business owners, as a SCORE counselor through the Small Business Administration. Kurti’s daughter, Keren Kurti Alexander, accepted the award from Ashworth.
Visit Lake Norman had several other awards as well. The ”Outshines from the Front Lines” award went to Minnie Cole, breakfast attendant at the Residence Inn Lake Norman. The ”Stellar Seller” was given to Debra Schmidt, director of sales for the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Huntersville. The ”Lead to Succeed” award winner was Juan Robles, general manager for the Comfort Suites in Huntersville.
Other award winners included North Harbor Club, River Run Tennis Center and the Carolina Renaissance Festival.
