INFORMATION

​Why have an annual BEST OF contest for the lake area?  We believe that the community is a fantastic gauge when it comes to what businesses are the best of the best.  We believe ALL Smith Lake area businesses are the best, so it's just a fun community survey each year to see what businesses locals feel have delivered customer service at a highest level in that year.  It's just for fun, so jump in, VOTE and support your favorite local businesses!

DURATION:  The 2022 contest officially begins JULY 1, 2022, with votes ending NOVEMBER 1, 2022 for publishing by the end of the year.  Voters can actually vote all year long, but we'll promote the contest more fully each Fall.  NOTE:  Voting for 2021 ended at midnight 11/7/2021. All voting after 11/7/21 is being applied to 2022 votes.

SPECIAL NOTE TO BUSINESSES:  WELCOME!  You do NOT have to be an advertiser with the magazine in order to be entered.  This is an open contest for ALL businesses who serve the Smith Lake area and are Alabama based businesses or near our North Alabama area.  We encourage you to reach out to your fans to have them vote for you.  If your business wins the vote fair and square, it WINS!
We hope everyone will be gracious, complimentary and congratulatory towards the winners, and we wish you all the best!  This will be an annual contest, so you will always have another year to win.  All categories are up for grabs, so get your tribe of fans together and have them VOTE.  ENJOY!  

If you see that we should add a category, or if you have other revisions to offer, please call/text us at 256-708-7679 or email us at info.thelakesidelife@gmail.com.
Click here >>VOTE<<  to go to the vote page!

2021 Contest Sponsors:

Brought to you in 2021 by The Lakeside Life Magazine, Free State Outfitters Co., Nogginhed Smith Lake, (with a separate annual event that will be sponsored in 2021 by Realtors Melinda Edwards and Brooke Edwards of Lake Homes Realty).  This contest is the copyright of The Lakeside Life Magazine with all of its sponsors.

2021 Event Sponsors:

This annual contest is a copyright of The Lakeside Life magazine with its sponsors, established July 1, 2020.
PRIZES FOR 2022:  

The Top 3 entries with the most votes overall, no matter the category, will receive the following prizes from The Lakeside Life magazine and the sponsors.   
  • 1st Place - Full Page AD for 1 quarter of their choice in 2023 (worth $850), PLUS a feature article (approximately 2 pages in the magazine) for their business.  If a winner has won in a previous year and the article has already been done, we still simply boost their article with updates, post to the blog and run on social media.
  • 2nd Place - Half Page AD for 1 quarter of their choice in 2023 (worth $500) 
  • 3rd Place - Quarter Page AD for 1 quarter of their choice in 2023 (worth $300) 

ALSO...
All Top 3 winners above will be:
  • mentioned prominently in the Top 3 positions in the magazine announcement about the event 
  • tagged on our social media pages announcing their wins
  • featured in a spotlight on our social media pages during the following year - winners must contact us to get this done.
  • shown prominently for 1 year in a free AD on our magazine website on the MarketPlace Page, the Business Index, and the "Best of Smith Lake" status page with winning badge placement - winners must contact us to get this done.  
  • shown as a sponsor for 1 year on our Facebook community group page "Smith Lake Community" and "Visit Smith Lake" - winners must contact us to get this done.
  • receive a weekly post on our business social media @smithlakebiz - winners MUST "@" tag us on posts they wish to promote in this way.

AND...
1st Place winners in all individual categories:
  • are listed on the magazine website FINAL results with live links.  The top 3 shown remain on the website for early 2021, but the 1st Place winners will continue to show with live links for a full year, and then shown in archives for up to a total of 3 years.  
  • These can be shown with an added short bio provided by the winners for each of the top winners (contact us regarding this). 
  • We will also happily push your social media reposts (as long as winners "@" TAG us on posts they need reposted), and we'll place your WINNING badge in posts we repost if requested.

​During the contest, before annual final results, the Top 3 nominees for each category will be shown on the BEST OF SMITH LAKE status page to show the status of nominees as of that date.  We will put the date of each update at the top of the page and the FINALS will be listed at the top of the page when the results are announced and released for the year.  

This is just the beginning, we may have some more things to add soon, so check back with us!  BEST OF LUCK!