Reader’s Choice polls open for the 14th year

December 06, 2012, 9:00 pm by

Voting in the original Readers’ Choice Awards for the Best of the Highland Lakes begins today with nearly two dozen new categories and some fresh twists to what has become an annual tradition.

For the first time since the contest was begun in 2000 by Highland Lakes Newspapers, there’ll be a Sweepstakes award category with special prizes for the winners.

Readers can cast their Sweepstakes votes with ballots printed in the three Highland Lakes Newspapers – The Highlander, the Burnet Bulletin, and The Llano County Journal.

The Sweepstakes awards will recognize the Best of the Best in general businesses in two categories: Best New Business opened in 2012 and Best Customer Service and will honor individual businesspeople for Best Boss, Best & Most Helpful Employee and Best Receptionist.

Additional Sweepstakes awards will recognize the Best New Restaurant opened in 2012 and the eating place with Best Restaurant Service. Individual winners will be chosen for Best Bartender and Best Waiter or Waitress.

"We want to promote local businesses in every way we possibly can,” said Ellen Bode, associate publisher of The Highlander. "We hope in a small way this special recognition of excellence will draw attention to the quality of our local businesses and encourage their patronage.

"The special awards we are making to restaurants and their employees are intended to draw attention to the hardworking people who not only provide friendly service to us, but often make the first impression on visitors to our community,” she added.

Special plaques will go to each sweepstakes winner.

The ballots will be published through December in The Highlander, the Burnet Bulletin, and the Journal to vote in the dozens of traditional – and many new – categories of the annual contest.

Most of the traditional categories you’ve come to know for businesses, restaurants, services and the best individuals in their fields will still appear on the ballot. It must be mailed or brought to our offices by 5 p.m. Dec. 31, 2012.

But here’s an incentive.

To encourage you to dive into the contest right away, we’ll have a drawing for a $50 prize from the ballots we receive each week that include a name, address, phone number and email. No newspaper purchase is necessary. A free ballot is available at The Highlander office, 304 Gateway Loop, in Marble Falls.

So have fun making your choices for this year’s winners in all of the traditional categories and all of the new ones – like best milkshake.