Have you ever been in an office supply store, seen the electric letter opener, and thought to yourself, “Who in the world is so lazy that they need a envelope-cutting machine with a three-prong cord?” Well, we have. Oh, how our piercing mockery came back to haunt us. Have you ever opened more than a hundred envelopes in a sitting? How about a thousand? Or two thousand? We opened more than that – many, many more – and have the paper cuts, hangnails, and destroyed cuticles to prove it.

What’s our point? When we say we shed blood, sweat, and tears to bring you this Third Annual Readers’ Choice Awards, we mean it! And the people we blame – or, rather, thank – for this overwhelming response is you, the readers. Without you, this would merely be the Choice Awards (and your local drugstore would still have flexible strip knuckle Band-Aids in stock). Your participation adds a legitimacy that no fancy trophy or ceremonial banquet can imitate.

But beyond us thanking you, the businesses you voted for thank you. While it may have taken you only a few seconds to fill in any given winner on our ballot, it likely took that business owner an entire career to reach that level of recognition. And your vote of confidence means the world to them. So, from both of us, thank you. The pain was worth it.