September 26th, 2023 – 12:00 PM
Tellus Science Museum –
Executive Director of Tellus Science Museum, Jose Santamaria, has been awarded the Entwisle Award for Lifetime Service in Tourism by Bartow County’s destination marketing organization—Only in Cartersville Bartow Tourism. The announcement was made at the annual Rose Lawn Arts Festival on September 16.
Each year, the Board of Directors at Only in Cartersville Bartow Tourism brings forward a slate of nominees to be considered for the Hospitality Hero Awards. These awards recognize individuals who have contributed to Bartow County through public service, tourism, and economic development. The Entwisle Award for Lifetime Service is intended to honor someone whose stewardship has shaped the tourism industry and ultimately the community.
Jose Santamaria became involved with the Cartersville – Bartow community when he first took the role of
director at the Weinman Mineral Museum in 1996. In his 27 years of service, he saw the small mineral
museum transform into Tellus Science Museum—a 120,000-square-foot, Smithsonian-affiliated institution.
Under Santamaria’s leadership, Tellus developed an impressive repertoire of interactive educational
programming and became an institution known for regularly hosting events and exhibits that bring in tens of thousands of visitors from across the Southeast each year. Additionally, his personal love of science and dedication to education has drawn experts from across the country to our area and has allowed Tellus to become the most important collection of Georgia’s geological heritage in the world – due in part to some of his own fieldwork.
Entwisle Award History:
The award is named in honor of Frank Entwisle who dedicated almost 20 years as a constant guiding force for the tourism industry in Cartersville. Entwisle was first named to the Cartersville Tourism and Industry Council on January 3, 1985, by Mayor John Dent, and continued to serve the Board when the organization restructured forming the Cartersville Tourism Council. In 1990, Entwisle was instrumental in the formation of the joint City-County Cartersville-Bartow County Tourism Council, known today as Only in Cartersville Bartow Tourism.
Entwisle served as Treasurer of the Convention and Visitors Bureau from January 1991 to January 2004. The CVB and Only in Cartersville Bartow’s sustained growth is credited greatly to Entwisle’s sound financial stewardship. His legacy of leadership and financial responsibility continues to strengthen the mission of fostering economic growth through visitor spending.
