Visit Loudoun, Loudoun County Parks & Recreation Receive Award of Excellence

Visit Loudon and the Loudon County Parks, Recreation and Community Services division received top honors this month at the Senior Softball-USA Annual Convention in Sacramento, California.

The 2021 Award of Excellence from Senior Softball-USA was awarded to Torye Hurst, Visit Loudoun’s director of sales, sports and services, and Dave Carver, the Loudoun County Parks, Recreation & Community Services manager of sports and special events.

“Torye and Dave helped us to establish one of the premier tournaments East of the Mississippi River, the Eastern Nationals, into a quality, signature event,” said Senior Softball-USA President Terry Hennessy. “They have been working with us for more than a decade and have always been excellent sponsors of the event.”

Loudoun County hosted the Senior Softball-USA Atlantic Coast Championships from 2009 through 2018. Since 2019, the county has also hosted the Eastern Nationals at Potomack Lakes Sportsplex, which was named the Senior Softball-USA Softball Complex of the Year in 2019.

“I’m incredibly proud of the partnership between Visit Loudoun and Loudoun PRCS, which continues to successfully position Loudoun as a sports tournament destination,” Visit Loudoun President and Chief Executive Officer Beth Erickson said. “The Senior Softball tournament delivered more than $500,000 in economic impact to Loudoun in 2021 and I know that in the capable hands of Torye and Dave, that it will continue to grow.”

Through its Loudoun Sports Tourism brand, which launched in 2019, Visit Loudoun continues to increase its presence in the sports market. In 2022, several tournaments return to Loudoun including the USSSA C Nationals and USA Softball Eastern Nationals fastpitch tournaments, MYHockey tournaments at ION International Training Center and Ashburn Ice House, the East Coast Premier Cup and WAGS Rael Vodicka soccer tournaments. The 247-acre Hal and Berni Hanson Regional Park will open with 17 lighted athletic fields in the spring.

“As Loudoun continues to grow, the excellent facilities that the county is developing and operating for residents are also a destination for tournaments,” PRCS Director Steve Torpy said. “These facilities, paired with outstanding staff, provide an award-winning tournament experience. We appreciate this recognition of the hard work and commitment of our PRCS staff.”