About Best of the Best
In Best of the Best, readers have the last word. The Post-Journal and the Observer are proud to host this readers’ choice awards contest as a way to recognize the places and people that make this region special.
DATES TO KNOW
- Nominations open: August 23-28, 2024
- First Voting open: September 20-26, 2024
- Final Voting open: October 26-31, 2024
- Winners announced: December 7, 2024
Sign-In Rules
Newly registered users can immediately nominate/vote for a short time (for 7 days), without clicking the emailed “Log Me In!” link. After 7 days users will need to click the “Sign In to Continue” link and enter the email address used to register. An email will be sent containing a personalized login link to continue nominating or voting. Users do not have to re-sign in everyday unless browser cookies are disabled. Be sure to bookmark the personalized login link for easy access!
All users have to click the “Log Me In!” link once their session expires to continue nominating/voting (for 30 days). After 30 days users will need to click the “Sign In to Continue” link and enter the email address they used to register. Another email will be sent containing your personalized login link to continue nominating/voting.
Before sending an email for assistance, please be sure to search your entire email account for an email from noreply@mail.revfluent.com to find the email containing your personalized login link.
If you did not receive an email from noreply@mail.revfluent.com containing your personalized login link, please send an email to support@ogdensharedservices.freshdesk.com requesting your login link.
NOMINATIONS AND VOTING
Nomination Round: The contest starts with a nomination round online, where readers can propose businesses, organizations and individuals for all of the categories. This keeps the contest fresh as new businesses and organizations come to the area and as existing ones change and grow.
First Voting Round: In the first voting round, the public votes to narrow the big list of nominated businesses, organizations and attractions down to just the Top Five in each category.
Final Voting Round: The excitement builds with voting on the Top Five businesses, organizations and attractions in each category! The top vote-getter in each category will be crowned the winner, and those with the second- and third-most votes will be announced as finalists.
FAIR VOTING RULES
Nominees/entrants are prohibited from soliciting votes by offering payments or exchange of value of any kind.
Voting is limited to one vote in each category per person per day. During the nomination phase, nominations can be entered once per category per hour.
NOMINATION GUIDELINES
Our Best of the Best team does its best to vet all nominees. Here are the guidelines we use:
Businesses/businesspeople located in Chautauqua County, NY, are eligible.
We reserve the right to disqualify a business or organization from a category that does not represent a significant focus of its activities.
Nominations for categories that call for individuals, like Real Estate Agent, must include the nominee’s full name and place of business, and may be rejected if that information is not provided.
Application of our criteria is not an exact science. Our team uses its best judgment; if you think we’ve made an error, please email best@post-journal.com.
CATEGORY NOTES
The Real Company category is not intended for individual agents unless they are sole proprietors of an agency or brokerage, in which case that agency or brokerage may be nominated under their name. Individual agents should be nominated in the Real Estate Agent category.
Note that the Insurance Agency category is open to locally based offices or teams of agents or brokers selling insurance directly to buyers. The category is not intended for individual agents, unless they are sole proprietors of an agency or brokerage, in which case that agency or brokerage may be nominated under their name.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: I nominated a business, but it’s not showing up on the nomination site. Why?
We review all submissions, so there can be a delay in it appearing.
It only takes one qualified nomination to move to the voting round, so even if you never see your nomination on the nomination site, if it met the category criteria, your nomination will be in the voting round.
Q: My business was nominated, and I saw it on the website during the nomination period, but it is not showing up in the voting round. Why?
After nominations close and before voting opens, our team does its best to vet all nominees. While your business may have appeared during the nomination period, our team may have determined it was ineligible for the voting round.
Q: I missed the nominations period. Can my business still be entered in the contest?
Late nominations may be accepted if received promptly after the nomination round closes. They will be reviewed as soon as is practical, and if they meet the criteria for their proposed category, they will be included in the voting round.
Q: My business was nominated, but did not appear in the voting round. How do I register a complaint?
Email us at best@post-journal.com within 24 hours after the voting period opens. You must identify the category and tell us why you think your business should have been included.
Like most humans, we sometimes make mistakes, and if we have, we’ll add your business within moments of our decision.
Q: Do I need to click a submit button to finalize my votes?
No, users do not need to click a submit button when done nominating/voting. Votes are recorded as soon as the vote buttons are clicked. If a user decides to change their vote, the change will take place as soon as the vote button next to a different business listing is clicked.
Q: How are the winners selected?
Winners are those that received the most votes in their category. Finalists are those that received the second- and third-most votes in their category. If there is a tie, we will announce both winners and/or finalists.
Q: Why does this contest allow people to nominate/vote every day?
We allow daily voting because it rewards those entrants with passionate supporters. With a single vote per person, entrants with the best name recognition have a distinct advantage, as many voters skim over categories and cast their votes casually. That kind of popularity is an important part of finding the best of Chautauqua County. But we also want to reward the sense of passion some people have for their local favorites, which can be captured in daily voting.
Also: This contest is fundamentally about celebrating and supporting great institutions by raising their profile and helping them gain new fans. With daily voting, the contest raises the visibility of those businesses and organizations that use it to reach out to new and existing customers to ask for their support, through advertising and through their own channels.
We reserve the right to change these guidelines. Check back here for updates.