Aug 31, 2017 4 min read

Do you have a favorite restaurant around town? Is there a hairdresser or mechanic who never lets you down? Who is the best of the best in our region? The nominations are in, and now it’s time to vote for your No. 1 choice.

Observer-Reporter invites you to cast your ballot in the first Best of the Best People’s Choice Awards. The contest celebrates the best businesses, organizations and people of Washington, Greene and southern Allegheny counties, and it won’t be possible without your vote.

Matt Miller, Observer Publishing Co. vice president and chief revenue officer, said, “As a media company, we recognized that we have a unique and eclectic group of businesses and business owners in our market, and we were looking for a way to honor them. In Best of the Best, a people’s choice award, we have found that. This inaugural awards gala will celebrate their successes, and we’re proud to be a part of that.”

O-R’s website and through forms printed in the newspaper. Nominations were limited to once per day, and voters had to nominate businesses in more than 25 (out of 164 total) categories for their ballots to be registered. The process helped to eliminate anyone stuffing the ballot box for a particular business.

Best of the Best ballot categories include beauty and health; vehicles, dealers and services; clothing; dining; kids and education; home, home services and finance; entertainment and leisure; media; people and places; services; shopping; spirits; and sports.

The final vote will be just as particular and runs Sunday through Sept. 17.

O-R or visit the newspaper’s website at www.observer-reporter.com and click Register/Login to register to vote. Provide your email address and create a password, or log in if you have already registered. You can vote for one of the top five businesses in each category on the Best of the Best ballot.

You can only vote once per day. For your ballot to be accepted (and to avoid ballot stuffing), voters must make choices in a minimum of 25 of the 164 different categories.

The top three businesses will be recognized at an invitation-only Best of the Best Awards Gala on Nov. 9 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh-Meadow Lands. That’s when the overall winner in each category will be announced. A special section will be published as part of the newspaper’s printed edition as well as on its website on Nov. 19.

O-R has run Best of the Best in this format, and it will become an annual event.

Miller admits the contest is a big undertaking. “We’re recognizing more than 150 different categories, and it’s important we get that right,” he said. “We have partnered with two national companies to ensure we do. One partner helped us to define our program – setting a timeline, identifying categories, developing our brand, managing the event, etc. Our second partner takes the voting and counting out of our hands. All entries – print and digital – are logged and tallied using their software. We’re proud to have secured management and technology partners to produce results and events worthy of our winners.”