Three years running, we’ve asked you, loyal readers, to help us sort out the whos and the whats that make life in Chesapeake Country so good (and in a few cases, bad). Who hasn’t had a conversation about the best crabcake, the best barbecue or the best writer in these parts? As a newspaper, we’re regularly grilled about our favorite this or that, but as newspaper people, we prefer to focus on the world around us, not the world as we see it. And for three years in a row, you readers haven’t let us down, sending us more than a thousand ballots during our voting earlier this year.
Best of the Bay is by no means a scientific poll, but it offers insights into life in Chesapeake Country. Better yet, it offers us a glimpse of the world around us through the eyes of you readers.
This year, we’ve added a second series of winners, the Editors’ Choice. Working at a newspaper, we’re often on the inside track to little, hidden treasures that abound in our community, which for Bay Weekly stretches from Severna Park through Annapolis all the way to Solomons. These Editors’ Choices were by no means arbitrary, as we asked our entire staff as well as friends and contributors to add their two cents worth. Sometimes, as in the case with you readers’ ballots, the competition was intense, almost acrimonious, with some categories even ending in ties.
But in the end, we put our differences aside for the common good, and the result is the best Best of the Bay to date. True, you surely won’t agree with all the winners, either those chosen by our readers or those we’ve chosen ourselves. Which should be enough to ensure that you’ll fill out your own ballot in next year’s Best of the Bay questionnaire, scheduled to begin running the first week in February. We welcome your feedback, and we also ask for any suggestions for additions next time around.
Best of the Bay comes to you as a result of much hard work. Summer intern Stephanie Chizik counted the votes. Contacting the winners and writing about what you told us was best, as well as editors’ choices, were staffers James Clemenko, Lisa Edler, Kimberly Goode, Betsy Kehne, Alex Knoll, Bill Lambrecht, Sandra Martin and Marnie Morris. Special thanks, also, to contributors Chris Dollar, April Falcon Doss, M.L. Faunce, Sonia Linebaugh, Eric Smith and Dick Wilson, who also proofread this beast along with Annette Najjar .
Hard work aside, what fun it’s been learning the final results, chosen by Bay Weekly’s readers. There were some shoo-ins, but also more than a few surprises.
