“Come Full Circle” Campaign Wins Henry Award for Best in Rural Marketing; Redesigned VisitSebring.com Earns Bronze
SEBRING, Fla. (Sept. 14, 2026) – Visit Sebring/Highlands County Tourist Development Council (TDC) brought home two prestigious Flagler Awards from the 2026 Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism in West Palm Beach, including the state’s top honor for rural tourism marketing.
Visit Sebring received the Henry Award, which is the highest honor in its category, for the “Come Full Circle” marketing campaign in the Rural County Marketing category. The campaign capitalized on the national exposure generated by HGTV’s Home Town Takeover, which featured Sebring throughout the six-episode third season of the popular series.
Visit Sebring also received a Bronze Flagler Award in the Websites, Apps & Digital Experiences category for the redesign of VisitSebring.com, which launched in 2025.
Presented by VISIT FLORIDA, the Flagler Awards are an annual statewide competition recognizing outstanding tourism marketing throughout Florida. The awards honor the creativity, innovation, resourcefulness and effectiveness of the organizations and individuals responsible for marketing one of the world’s leading tourism destinations. The competition includes destination marketing organizations, attractions, resorts, tourism businesses and other organizations from throughout Florida. Entries are evaluated by an independent panel of judges, with the top-scoring entry in each category receiving the coveted Henry Award.
“Winning another Henry Award is an incredible honor, especially for a rural destination competing on a statewide level,” said Casey Hartt, Tourism Director for Visit Sebring/Highlands County TDC. “The Come Full Circle campaign was about taking an extraordinary opportunity, the national attention generated by HGTV, and turning it into a reason for people to actually visit Sebring, Avon Park and Lake Placid, FL. This award validates the creative work behind that effort and, more importantly, the collaboration throughout our community that made the story possible.”
The “Come Full Circle” campaign was developed by the TDC’s marketing firm, Madden Media, to extend the tourism impact of Sebring’s appearance on HGTV’s Home Town Takeover beyond the television series itself. Playing off Sebring’s iconic downtown Circle, the campaign encouraged viewers to “come full circle” by going from watching the transformation on television to experiencing Sebring and its neighboring communities on Avon Park and Lake Placid in person.
HGTV filmed Home Town Takeover in Sebring in 2024, transforming homes, businesses and public spaces throughout the community. The six-episode season premiered nationally in March
2025, introducing millions of viewers to Sebring and creating an unprecedented opportunity to position the community as a travel destination. Visit Sebring complemented that exposure with tourism marketing and visitor experiences designed to convert viewers into visitors and encourage them to explore not only Sebring, but also Avon Park, Lake Placid and attractions throughout Highlands County.
The second Flagler Award recognized the 2025 redesign of VisitSebring.com, which created a more modern, mobile-friendly and visitor-focused digital presence for the destination. The redesigned website showcases things to do, places to stay, dining, events, itineraries and experiences throughout the destination and also serves as a key planning resource for travelers inspired to visit after seeing Sebring on HGTV.
“Receiving a Bronze Award for our website is also significant because that is a competitive category that includes destinations and tourism organizations from across Florida,” Hartt said. “For a smaller rural destination like Highlands County to be recognized alongside some of the biggest destinations and best tourism marketers in the state speaks volumes about the quality of work being done here.”
The 2026 Flagler Awards were presented during the Florida Governor’s Conference on Tourism, held Sept. 9–11 at the Palm Beach County Convention Center in West Palm Beach. The Governor’s Conference is one of Florida’s premier gatherings of tourism professionals and brings together destination leaders and tourism businesses from throughout the state.
The latest Henry Award continues Visit Sebring’s history of statewide recognition for tourism marketing. The destination previously received Henry Awards for its Visit Sebring destination rebrand in 2017, Citrus Golf Trail campaign in 2018 and Sports Tourism Marketing Campaign in 2022.
“Tourism is an important economic driver for Highlands County, and recognition like this shows that a rural destination can compete at the highest level when we are creative, strategic and collaborative,” Hartt said. “We are very proud to bring these awards home to Highlands County.”
About the Flagler Awards
Created by VISIT FLORIDA, the Flagler Awards recognize outstanding tourism marketing by Florida destinations, attractions, accommodations, tourism businesses and organizations. Entries are judged on factors including creativity, innovation, production quality and effectiveness. Awards are presented to the highest-scoring entries in each category, with the Henry Award recognizing the category’s top entry.
About Visit Sebring
Visit Sebring is the destination marketing organization managed by the Highlands County Tourist Development Council (TDC), promoting Sebring, Avon Park, and Lake Placid. The TDC works to enhance the quality of life for Highlands County residents through destination promotion, tourism development, advocacy and responsible resource management while supporting tourism as an important component of the local economy.
For more information, visit VisitSebring.com or follow @VisitSebring on social media.
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MEDIA CONTACT: Casey Hartt Visit Sebring / Highlands County Tourist Development Council (863) 640-1743 email: Casey@VisitSebring.com
