In the Best of the Best contest, readers have the last word.
Residents have the opportunity to support their favorite local businesses, organizations, people and attractions. We’re proud to host it as a way to recognize the places and people that make this region special.
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, where readers can propose businesses, organizations and names 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.
- Voting round: In the voting round, readers vote to whittle down the big list of nominated businesses, organizations and attractions down to crown the Best of the Best: one winner and two finalists.
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.
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.
Even though we require sign-ups, we recognize that some people, in their enthusiasm, may be tempted to vote several times using different email accounts. Please note that voting under multiple email accounts violates the rules.
We do have systems in place to detect fraudulent voting. When we see evidence of fraudulent voting, we may eliminate all suspect votes at our discretion. In extreme cases, we will remove entrants, as well.
Nomination guidelines
Our Best of the Best team does its best to vet all nominees. Here are the guidelines we use, with exceptions as noted below:
Unless a category is labeled “Regional,” businesses, organizations and businesspeople within the following geographic area are eligible:
West Virginia: 26034 – Chester; 26047 – New Cumberland; 26050 – Newell; 26056 – New Manchester.
Ohio: 43920 – Easter Liverpool; 43945 – Salineville; 43964 – Toronto; 43968 – Wellsville; 44406 – Canfield; 44408 – Columbiana; 44413 – East Palestine; 44422 – Greenford; 44423 – Hanoverton; 44427 – Kensington; 44431 – Leetonia; 44432 – Lisbon; 44436 – Lowellville; 44441 – Negley; 44442 – Middletown; 44443 – New Springfield; 44445 – New Waterford; 44449 – North Benton; 44452 – North Lima; 44454 – Petersburg; 44455 – Rogers; 44460 – Salem; 44490 – Washintonville; 44493 – Winona; 44512 – Boardman; 44514 – Poland; 44601 – Alliance; 44609 – Beloit; 44625 – East Rochester; 44634 – Homeworth; 44657 – Minerva; 44669 – Paris.
Pennsylvania: 14043 – Georgetown; 15050 – Hookstown; 15052 – Industry; 15059 – Midland.
Many categories are restricted to local businesses and organizations in the sense of being locally owned and operated, and not national brands, chains or franchises. Some categories, noted below, are open to national or regional businesses and brands. Small regional groups, at our discretion, may be considered local businesses.
We reserve the right to disqualify a business or organization from a category that does not represent a significant focus of its activities.
Nominees must, in most categories, be open to the general public. (That is, no restrictive membership organizations.) Exceptions include golf courses.
Nominations for individual categories, like Real Estate Agent, must include the nominee’s full name and place of business.
Application of our criteria is not an exact science. The Best of the Best team uses its best judgment; if you think we’ve made an error, please email best@mojonews.com.
Category Exceptions and Special Notes
Categories are limited to local entities, as opposed to national brands or chains/franchises, except in the categories listed by group below.
Auto: Auto Dealer (New), Auto Dealer (Used).
Dining Out: Pizza.
Home: Lawn Mower Sales & Service, Pest Control Company, Real Estate Firm, Window Sales.
The Real Estate Agency 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.
Services: Bank, Cleaning Service, Credit Union, Mortgage Lending Company, Printer & Copying Services, Sewer and Drain Cleaning, Tax Preparation Company.
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.
Shopping: Butcher or Meat Shop, Gas Station/Convenience Store, Full-Service Supermarket, Furniture/Mattress Store, Hardware Store, Jewelry Store.
We reserve the right to change these guidelines. Check back on here for current guidelines.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the key dates for 2024?
- Nomination Period: August 29-September 4
- Voting Round: October 19-27
- Winners announced: December 7
Q: I nominated my business, but I don’t see it showing up on the website in the list of nominees. Why is that?
If you’re looking at the site during the nomination period and don’t see a business you nominated, fear not! All valid entries are considered and reviewed. But in order for a nomination to show up on the site, we have to approve it manually. Because we receive thousands of nominations, we can get backlogged.
The good news is your business only has to be nominated once to make it to the voting round, assuming it met the guidelines. And if it did meet the guidelines, it does not matter if it showed up on the site during the nomination period.
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?
See the guidelines answer above. 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: My business was nominated, but did not make it to the Voting Round. I think it should have. How do I register a complaint?
Email us at best@mojonews.com no later than 24 hours after the Voting Round 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: What guidelines are used to determine whether a nominated business qualifies for the first voting round?
Please see the sections below on “Nomination Guidelines” and “Category Exceptions and Special Notes.”
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?
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.
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?
The Best of the Best contest allows daily voting—once per person per day per category—because daily voting rewards entrants with passionate supporters. With a single vote per person, entrants with the best name recognition have a distinct advantage, as some voters skim over categories and cast their votes casually. Name recognition is an important part of finding the Best of the Best, but we also want to reward the passionate loyalty some people have for their local favorites, which can be captured in daily voting.
Also: This contest is fundamentally about celebrating and supporting great area 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.