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Visit Winona presented its annual Tourism Award 2005 to Watkins, Inc. at the Winona Area Chamber Banquet on Saturday, January 28. After years of presenting an award to a tourism volunteer or a group of volunteers, the Visit Winona board had recently expanded the award to include "tourism promotion" by corporations and organizations in Winona.
Watkins, Inc. has come a long way since its beginnings in 1868 corking bottles of liniment that was "good for man or beast" in the kitchen of a home in Plainview, Minnesota. Since 1885, when the company's founder moved the business to Winona, it has grown into an international corporation with tens of thousands of sales associates around the world selling hundreds of quality products, and in the process spreading the name of Winona, Minnesota. In summer 2005, China joined other countries such as South Korea, Kuwait, Romania, Venezuela, and Mexico to stock Watkins products on its shelves.
The company has embraced its history by building and maintaining a museum and archives that serve locals, visitors, and many bus tour groups. It has also supported local and regional groups involved in tourism such as the Winona County Historical Society, the Great River Shakespeare Festival, the Grand Excursion, and others. It frequently donates Watkins products to Visit Winona for inclusion in Welcome Bags, and also as prizes for various tourism events. The company also bring sales associates to Winona by the thousands each year. More recently, it has helped spread its corporate name as a sponsor of the national popular Prairie Home Companion show.
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