The Good Stuff

It's okay to say, 'Voted the best...in Adair County.' Put it everywhere you can. It will give potential new customers or clients a level of comfort knowing that others have put their trust in you.”

We just finished up tallying our Readers Choice votes and are now busy letting our winners know the good news.

While I often call myself a “hard news” person, meaning I lean toward covering government and important community issues over features and feel-good pieces, I love the opportunity to point out the good we see around us.

Our 20 Under 40 event is my favorite of the year, but the Readers Choice comes in a close second.
Our readers choose the Readers Choice winners, and I mean readers, because votes have to be made on good old fashioned news print. We received a tremendous amount of votes this year, and that tells me that people are eager to recognize excellence.

Maybe it’s because of all the negative stuff that is so readily available everywhere we go that people were eager to be part of something good.
Sure, the contest is “just for fun.” There are no interviews or objective judges making decisions. It’s just about taking the time to name people or businesses who have done a great job this past year.

It’s so easy for some people to jump on social media and badmouth a local business if their fast food wasn’t fast enough or they had a bad experience. Others are more forgiving, however, especially in the current labor shortage. Businesses are doing the best they can with what they have, and I am glad we have this opportunity to recognize the ones that are really making an effort.
The same for health care. The baby boomers have hit the ages where our bodies just don’t do everything they once did and that means that our health care services are overflowing with customers. Just because you are overburdened doesn’t mean you can’t be nice, however, and we have had a great turnout on the votes in the health care field with some very close wins, which means we have some great services here in our community.

I urge all of our winners to brag. Yes, brag. Post your photo with your certificate on social media and wear the title with pride as you market your business. It’s okay to say, “Voted the best...in Adair County.” Put it everywhere you can. It will give potential new customers or clients a level of comfort knowing that others have put their trust in you.

Most people don’t take the time to say, “you do a great job.” It’s an expectation, and it should be.
But this is the time that we say “great job,” anway. It’s really nice to hear. It’s really nice to say.
So, to all our Readers Choice winners – great job!
The list of winners will be published next week. My crew is super busy getting the word out, and they are doing a great job, too. I’m proud of the work they do. Their efforts make projects like the Readers Choice contest possible. It may be “just for fun,” but like all of you, there is a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to be the best that you can be.

Congrats to all!