I watched a little bit of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science’s annual awards ceremony last week. Better known as the Oscars, the awards night usually has some bizarre moments and political overtones. I only saw a couple of the movies that were awarded but having the ceremony in Union Station was cool.
It seems like we have something hard wired into our DNA for contests, lists and awards. We love to be judged and to judge. Just ask Facebook. On second thought, you don’t need to ask, idiot, someone has already told you so.
But I digress.
It is time for our very own community awards. The second annual Reader’s Choice Best of the Amery Area is now accepting nominations.
Last year, with the help of thousands of readers, we ran our first contest. We had no idea how the contest would be received, but we wanted to give it a try. With the coronavirus hanging over nearly everything last year we hoped the contest would be a way for us all to recognize our favorites. If there was ever a time in recent history when a kind word and praise were needed, it was 2020.
By the fall we had calculated the votes and announced the winners. Winners received a certificate, winners logos and bragging rights for the next year.
Well, it’s time to do it all again. This time, I would like to share some insider tips with you, lessons gleaned after the maiden voyage of the contest.
The contest is run exclusively online. Nominations and votes are strictly confidential, just like our elections. (Insert uncomfortable political joke of your choice here.)
A pro tip about the contest: you can nominate and vote once every 24 hours. If you have mad love for your favorite hamburger, nominate its maker EVERY DAY until the nomination period closes. The persons, places and food with the most nominations will make the ballot.
It’s perfectly fine and legal (unlike elections) to vote more than once. In fact, you can vote once for every category on the ballot every 24 hours. In the end, like the nominations, the persons, places and food with the most votes will win.
It’s also perfectly fine and legal to vote for yourself, just like in elections.
It’s perfectly fine and legal to get your family and friends to vote for every category on the ballot once every 24 hours. If you only want to make sure your favorite hamburger wins, vote once every 24 hours in just that category. But you can vote in every category once every 24 hours.
In case I haven’t been clear here, please nominate as many people, events, items and food as you like. Re-nominate them every 24 hours to make sure they make the ballot. When the ballot is finalized, vote for them once every 24 hours until voting closes.
We know readers of the Amery Free Press are discriminating arbiters of all things, that’s why they do a great job with the contest. We also know there are some pretty amazing people and things in the area that need to be recognized every year.
So, do your part. Nominate your favorites now. Vote for them when the ballot is finalized. Show them all the love and respect they are due.
As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@theameryfreepress.com, telephone 715-268-8101 or write me at P.O. Box 424, Amery, WI, 54001.
Thanks for reading. I’ll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.
