An editorial by Gary Nager
As our regular readers know, we have conducted an extremely popular Reader Dining Survey & Contest virtually every year since 1994 in the New Tampa & Wesley Chapel Neighborhood News. I have often been asked why we don’t do the same for area businesses, so after discussing the idea with office manager Nikki Bennett, we have decided that this year is the year! So, area doctors, dentists, hair and nail salons, veterinarians, carpet cleaners, florists, boutiques, supermarkets and virtually every business category you can imagine will finally get the same treatment we have given area eateries.
To that end, we hope that when you receive this issue, you will visit NTNeighborhoodNews.com and fill in as many “Best of New Tampa” categories as you want — from one to all of them — just bear in mind that you will receive one entry into this great contest for every category you fill in, as long as you correctly fill out your entry. You can fill in just the name of your favorite flooring store and you’ll still receive one entry into a random drawing for at least 20 great prizes, which will range from a great two-night hotel stay to $50 and $100 salon and spa prizes to $20 gift cards to a favorite local restaurant.
Yes, this “Best of New Tampa” contest is a popularity contest, so feel free to get as many of your friends as you can to vote for your own chiropractic office or your best friend’s new catering service. The business which receives the most votes of any in its category will win the highly coveted first-annual “Best of New Tampa” award in that category. We will announce all of the 2012 award winners in our special January 2013 issue.
There are some rules, however.
1) You can only enter this contest on our website — no mailed, emailed or faxed entries, please!
2) Each person can only submit one (1) entry, but up to four other people in the same household may also enter/vote.
3) You can vote for one business in one category or place a vote in every category and you will receive one entry into our contest for each category in which you cast a vote.
4) You can enter the contest any day between now and September 30.
5) No matter how many categories you fill in, you must include your name, address, the community you live in (Meadow Pointe, Seven Oaks, etc.), your daytime telephone number and a valid e-mail address or all of your votes will not count!
Your Business Can Benefit!
We created this contest to help promote area businesses, which, of course, is our primary goal in virtually everything we do. So, if you want your business to get more votes than just the ones you and your friends submit, we are offering a special discount for new New Tampa Neighborhood News advertisers who sign a new agreement for at least four issues during the summer months. That discount increases if you agree to run your ad for at least six issues. And yes, we will gladly banner your ad with a “Please Vote for Us in the 2012 ‘Best (dry cleaner, wine shop, etc.) of New Tampa’ Contest!”
In our January 3 and January 14, 2013, issues, we will announce not only the winners, but also the runners-up and third-place vote-getters, in each category. And, in each 2013 issue in New Tampa and Wesley Chapel, we will guarantee to run at least one full-length feature story about one of our category winners. We know the businesses will appreciate not only the honor of being named a category winner, but also the opportunity to have their business featured in a great feature story which will appear, not only in print, but also on our website.
So, I really do hope you will visit NTNeighborhoodNews.com to check out the complete rules and entry form — and please tell your friends to get out and vote, too!
I’m Truly Sorry, Cindy!
I would really be remiss if I didn’t make a little more than my usual public correction/apology for published errors, as one story last issue — written by yours truly with the best of intentions — somehow went terribly awry. And, the errors definitely were entirely my fault. I’ll admit that our last New Tampa deadline was more traumatic than most, but it’s still no excuse for this level of screw-up.
At any rate, my sincere apologies go out to owner Cindy Kozlowski of You Do the Dishes (YDTD), which makes my flubs so much worse because we’re literally about four doors from each other, in the same plaza. Anyway…here goes:
Cindy and her long-time friend, YDTD marketing director and artist/educator Herb Pinder aren’t married, which I somehow pulled from my ever-aging subconscious because of one story we wrote a few years ago that had the same…um… misinformation. Yeesh. But, I didn’t stop there. Folk art isn’t this year’s only Summer Art Fest theme, it’s one of the themes Herb is teaching kids who participate in YDTD’s unique art program this summer, which includes pottery painting, but not pottery making. Double yeesh.
And finally, the “program” Cindy offers in conjunction with The Soap Factory in Tampa Palms is simply that if you make a bar of soap at The Soap Factory, you get a reduced price on a paint-it-yourself soap dish at YDTD.
For correct info about YDTD, call 975-1700 or visit YouDoTheDishes.com. And, please tell Cindy that a certain idiot editor sent you!
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