Palm Beach walking tour historian Rick Rose a finalist for county tourism award
Best known on the island for his enthusiastic historical walking tours of Worth Avenue often while attired in a bright-colored blazer, bowtie and Panama straw hat, local historian, author and travel-industry businessman Rick Rose is a contender for an esteemed county tourism award.
Calling it an “exciting honor,” Rose, chosen by a committee of local tourism-industry representatives after an initial application process, is among three finalists up for the 32nd annual Providencia Award.
The award, sponsored by Palm Beach County’s longtime tourism marketing agency, Discover the Palm Beaches, recognizes a local business, organization or individual for extraordinary contributions to the county’s vitality as a desirable tourist destination.
The other finalists are Palm Beach Gardens-based PGA National Resort, a finalist last year as well, and developer Related Southeast, for its West Palm Beach projects The Square and neighboring Hilton West Palm Beach.
The Related Companies’ founder and chairman is Palm Beach resident and Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, a philanthropist who has championed the county as a “sought-after place (for people) to live and for corporations to grow.”
Now, the public will decide the Providencia Award winner, which will be announced May 23. Votes can be cast for the finalists on an online portal (Providencia 2024) through April 29.
“The public’s opinion matters in recognizing excellence in our local tourism industry and accolading those who tirelessly support our destination,” Discover the Palm Beaches president and CEO Milton Segarra said in a press release.
Rick Rose said Providencia nomination 'highest honor of my life’s work'
Rose, a county native who last year won the Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s annual award for the preservation/promotion of county history, told the Daily News on Saturday that being a Providencia Award finalist “feels like the highest honor of my life’s work so far."
More: For second year, Breakers named one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For
“I’ve been so passionate about our community for years,” said Rose, who’s involved with various county civic organizations and co-owns and operates Palm Beach Vacation Rentals based in West Palm Beach.
“Tourism has been historically important here and continues to be and it’s one of the keys to how we move forward and envision what’s next,” he told the Daily News. “I’m someone who always looks ahead.”
Rose, a Discover the Palm Beaches board member, is a member of the county historical society, Flagler Museum and the Palm Beach Preservation Foundation.
In 2017, he released his first book, “Palm Beach: The Essential Guide to America’s Legendary Resort Town,” published by Globe Pequot, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield; a second edition came out in 2022.
Rose began his career in the hotel business and, from 2004 to 2020, he co-owned/operated the highly rated Grandview Gardens Bed & Breakfast in West Palm Beach.
During that time, he developed an area history tour for his guests after consulting friend and late “legendary” Florida history expert James “Jim” Ponce, the official historian of the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce and The Breakers and a former head of the county’s historical society.
The elderly Ponce (he died in 2015), who began Worth Avenue walking tours in 2001, handed the walking-tour reins to Rose in 2011.
As the Worth Avenue Association’s official “historical docent,” Rose’s in-season weekly Worth Avenue tours routinely sell out and continue this season each Wednesday at 10:30 a.m. through April 24.
The 75-minute excursions include multiple stops along the three-block stretch of the famed fashion retail district.
At each stop, Rose shares the history of Worth Avenue's architecture, fashion, landmarks and famous residents.
The Providencia Award is named for the cargo ship, Providencia, that ran aground off the shores of current-day Palm Beach in 1878. The crew and cargo of 20,000 coconuts were rescued by local pioneer families, who planted the coconuts, resulting in the palm tree-filled landscape that inspired the town’s name.
The Colony Hotel won last year’s Providencia Award. Other previous winners with Palm Beach connections include historian Ponce in 2011 and The Breakers in 1997.
According to Discover the Palm Beaches, tourism is associated with 85,000 area jobs in the county and has an annual economic impact of about $10 billion.
For more information, visit www.thepalmbeaches.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach walking tour historian Rick Rose a tourism award finalist
