To start, I want to say thank you to each and every one of you that took the time to nominate your favorite people and places in this year’s contest. While not everyone can move in the final round, all the nominees should be congratulated on providing a service or experience that was worthy enough for the community to recognize.

But for the ones who did make it to the finals, this is where the fun begins. I guess some would consider it more stressful than fun, but for me, I love to see how the votes stack up and ultimately decide the winner.

Some races will be won in a landslide, and others will go down until the bitter end – and you never know exactly how each will shake out. Regardless, it now all boils down to votes and anyone can cast theirs starting today (Friday, May 2) through Friday, May 16.

I’m sure not everyone’s favorite nominees made it to the finals. But that doesn’t mean you can’t support ones that did. Maybe your favorite sushi place didn’t make the cut, but your second favorite place did. It’s ok to vote for your second favorite. I bet they’d love to have your vote, too.

And while I feel like I say this every year, I think I have to: this should be an exciting time. Have fun with this contest.

It’s meant to be a positive experience for the businesses and community members and rewarding them for being the best at what they do. The last thing we want to have happen is to turn this into a negative experience. Let’s keep the buzz upbeat and supportive.

Your role in helping crown a winner is much appreciated by all the finalists. After all, who doesn’t want to see success in the eyes of their peers? Also, don’t fret – we have ways to ensure there aren’t folks out there creating fake accounts and stuffing the ballots with false votes – although it still amazes me that each year we have people that try. We truly want to ensure that the winners have earned their crown through votes from the community. You can place your vote daily by going to sierrasun.com/best.

Congratulations to all the finalists and good luck! Winners will be announced on Friday, July 4, and I can’t think if a better time to shout it from the rooftops than the busiest day of the year.

And if you want to see who the finalists are for the Tahoe Tribune’s Best of Tahoe contest, go to tahoedailytribune.com/best and check it out. Publisher Rob Galloway can be reached at rgalloway@swiftcom.com or 530-542-8046.