Summit County residents have been voting for their favorite local businesses, organizations and people in Summit Daily News’ annual readers choice awards contest for over a decade. It’s the biggest contest of its kind in Summit County, with nearly 90,000 votes cast annually across about 200 categories. Here’s what you need to know about this year’s contest.

Nominations are open through July 3 at SummitDaily.com/best. We automatically nominated all of last year’s eligible nominees, with a few exceptions. The following categories will not be pre-nominated:

• Categories that require an individual’s name, such as Artist, Band/Musician, Bartender, Chef, Community Leader, Dentist, Doctor, Financial Planner, Insurance Agent, Mortgage Broker, Mr. Summit County, Ms. Summit County, Professional Photographer, Real Estate Agent, Server, Teacher and Veterinarian.
• Categories where nominees are likely to change from year to year, such as Community Event, Concert Series/Music Festival, New Business, Pet-Friendly Business, Pet-Friendly Lodging, Place to Work, Restaurant Service and Shopping Customer Service.
• Categories that are new, including Gluten Free Options, Longterm Rental Property Management Company, Medical Spa, Real Estate Team, Restoration/Mitigation Company, Sign Shop, Ski & Snowboard Tuning, Tax Relief Company and Veterinarian.

Participants can make an unlimited number of nominations during the nomination period. Each nomination will be vetted for accuracy, including whether the business, organization or person is based in Summit County and whether the nominee is an appropriate fit for the category. The contest is intended for locally owned or operated businesses, but national chains will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Incomplete nominations will be removed.

To ensure the contest remains competitive, categories with fewer than five nominees will be removed before voting begins July 17.

Learn more about the contest at SummitDaily.com/about-us/about-the-best-of-summit-contest, or email Summit Daily News Publisher Nicole Miller with questions at nmiller@summitdaily.com. To learn more about advertising in the contest, contact your advertising representative or email advertising@summitdaily.com.