Downtown Management District Receives Awards for Leadership, Marketing

El Paso’s Downtown Management District (DMD) will receive two awards this year from the Washington, D.C.-based International Downtown Association (IDA), one for Leadership and Management, and another for Downtown Marketing and Communications.

The DMD will receive the IDA Pinnacle Award for its work in helping streamline the permitting process for holding events downtown. A special events record was broken last year as Downtown El Paso saw 20 events held. This is the first time in 12 years that the award has been won in the El Paso area.

In a press release, DMD Executive Director Veronica Soto stated, “These awards only reaffirm that Downtown El Paso is moving in the right direction, and now recognized by the international community as a driver of economic growth and civic health for the entire region.”


The IDA will also award the Merit Award for Marketing and Communications to the DMD for work done by its partner, the Gutierrez Group marketing firm in helping to improve the image of Downtown. The award was last captured in El Paso for 2009’s Chalk the Block campaign.

“Downtown El Paso has charted a clear direction and image that is edgy, modern and culturally vibrant,” states Gutierrez Group Managing Director Eddie Gutierrez in the press release. “Our work brings fresh energy that brings together Downtown together as a community – all with a genuine and committed belief that Downtown is the center of economic, civic, and cultural life for the entire city.”

The DMD was created in 1997 to help manage Downtown maintenance and marketing tasks and works with the City of El Paso on specific projects. Information can be found at downtownelpaso.com.