Local residents have cast their votes for their favorite businesses, public agencies, events and local landmarks this fall. In a spirit of gratefulness for the opportunities and services available within the community, the Bellefontaine Examiner and the Logan County Visitors Bureau today are announcing the winners of more than 60 categories in the 2022 Best of Logan County Contest.
Logan County Visitors Bureau Director Anna Louden and Examiner Advertising Director Jim Strzalka said once again, participation grew this year in the third annual contest, with an increased number of paper ballots submitted and also ballots cast online. Voting began in late September and stretched through Oct. 22.
“Thank you to everyone who participated,” Louden said. “We had the most participation yet, and are looking forward to making it even better next year.”
“We were really pleased with the many responses we received this year,” Strzalka said.
“This has been a nice way to highlight our community to promote our local businesses to recognize everything they do for us.”
Categories ranged from medical care providers to favorite dining spots, auto repair, retirement communities, grocery and retail stores, home improvement and repair, golf courses, banks and financial institutions, law offices, insurance companies, city and county offices and many more.
New this year was a pull-down menu in the online voting to make the process even more convenient for local residents to select their favorite attractions and businesses.
“The drop-down menu allowed for more participation and made it easier for people to vote. I only heard positive feedback from it,” Louden said.
For the first time in the contest, a tie was reported. In the Best Lawyer category, Zeb Wagner and Tim Steinhelfer each will share the top spot for 2022.
Also noteworthy this year, Richwood Bank won three of the contest categories — Best Place to Work, Best Bank and Best Financial Planner.
In addition to the local business and agency results, some of the activity and tourist spots around Logan County that were selected by voters included these favorites: Art Fair — Hurley Farms, Made in Ohio; Attraction — Ohio Caverns; Bike Trail — Simon Kenton; Campground — Indian Lake State Park; Community Parade — Bellefontaine Christmas Parade; Event — First Fridays Bellefontaine; Fireworks — Belle Center; Hiking Trail — Myeerah Nature Preserve; and Historic Landmark — First Concrete Street.
Each of the winners will receive a framed certificate to recognize their achievement for being named a county favorite in the contest.
In the upcoming weeks, the entities also will be recognized through posts on the Visitors Bureau’s and Bellefontaine Examiner’s Facebook pages available at facebook.com/LoganCountyVisitorsBureau and facebook.com/BellefontaineExaminer.
Community members also are invited to share their feedback and new category ideas for the contest next year.
Best of LoCo22 6×10 winners.pdf