The Whidbey News Group’s annual Best of Whidbey Readers Choice Awards is off to a strong start.
For the next several weeks, we will be accepting votes online. We also published a paper ballot this past week for those who don’t have access to the Internet. The paper ballots turned in by the deadline will be combined with the online vote tallies.
Voting continues through May 30.
We will announce the winners during a Best of Whidbey luncheon we will host on July 29 at a time and location to be announced later. We’ll also be publishing our popular Best of Whidbey special publication.
In addition to categories like Best Burger and Best Margarita, among the top awards we will be announcing are Business of the Year, Business Person of the Year and Best Community Leader.
This year, voting for the Best of Whidbey is easier and more fun than ever. We now offer a simpler, faster way to cast your vote for your favorites in a long slate of categories.
To vote online, log on to www.southwhidbeyrecord.com and click on the link in the upper right of the page that says, “Best of Whidbey— Click here to vote.”
The competition can be fierce in some categories, with some embarking on campaigns that rival the efforts of seasoned political candidates.
As they say, all is fair …
As I see it, the most important rule is to keep it fun. It’s acceptable to have a spirited competition. Rally your friends, family and customers for support. Voting is absolutely free, and there’s no requirement that you subscribe or purchase anything.
Those who receive the most reader votes get to claim bragging rights for the coming year. In addition to bragging rights, there are often other significant benefits to winning: We’ve learned that people refer to the Best of Whidbey to aid with their decision-making when planning to make purchases or making other consumer decisions.
Ultimately, there are no losers in the Best of Whidbey. Just looking at the ever-growing slate of potential winners, it’s clear that Whidbey Island is home to absolutely amazing people, places and things.
If you haven’t already, please take about 10-15 minutes to cast your vote. You can simply click on a button next to the current nominees, or you can write in your own candidate. Write-in candidates will appear after they receive multiple numbers of write-in votes.
If you have suggestions or ideas for possible categories next year, you can email them to me at publisher@whidbeynewsgroup.com. As times change, the categories do evolve.
And again, remember to have fun.
