Frequently Asked Questions
What are the Best of West Virginia awards?
WV Living magazine started Best of West Virginia in 2013 to let our readers recognize and celebrate the excellent dining, shopping, and services that make West Virginia a great place to live. The concept was simple: take advantage of our readers’ local expertise to highlight the best businesses, nonprofits, towns, and people West Virginia has to offer. The list has grown each year and, in 2022, includes 86 categories.
When does Best of West Virginia happen?
It starts in July, when WV Living magazine staff create the upcoming Best of West Virginia nomination ballot. We learn from experience, so each year’s ballot is slightly different as we make categories more clear, drop categories that have too few contenders, and add categories suggested in the previous year.
The entire process takes place online only. The nomination-round survey goes live online in mid-July and stays online for about two weeks. We then tally the votes to determine the finalists in each category that will move on to the final voting round.
Final-round voting goes live in late-September. We keep this round live for three weeks. In October after the votes are tallied, we contact winners to congratulate them and, except in the case of perennial winners, to learn more so we can write profiles. We ask winners to keep it to themselves until the Winter Best of West Virginia issue of the magazine is published.
The Best of West Virginia issue hits stands and mailboxes in late November/early December, letting everyone know who’s the Best of West Virginia. Our schedule may shift in any year to accommodate our publishing needs and opportunities. The best way to stay on top of it is to subscribe to WV Living magazine, subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
When does the Best of West Virginia ballot go live?
The Best of West Virginia nomination round goes live in mid-July and the final round in September. But it’s no secret. The best way to be informed is to subscribe to WV Living magazine, subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
Who can vote?
Anyone can vote in the nomination and final rounds. You can vote once per day per category.
Who can be nominated?
Anyone can be nominated in the appropriate categories. We love learning about new things going on in West Virginia through Best of West Virginia nominations. Businesses can be self-nominated or can be nominated by readers and fans.
Why is my nomination not showing up on the ballot?
Your nomination will be checked by the site’s administrators within 48 hours. After approval, your nomination will show up on the nomination ballot. Even if your nomination is not visible, the system will capture each nomination that is received and it will be counted towards the total nominations/votes.
In addition, for some categories, we don’t approve a nomination unless it includes sufficient information: for example, “Marsha Smith” for Best Mayor. We retain the nomination and, if others later nominate “Marsha Smith, Smithville,” we’ll ultimately tally it with those more complete nominations. Be specific to ensure that your nomination shows up.
My name or address is showing up incorrectly on the ballot. What should I do?
The system uses Google business listings to pull address information, if your business isn’t Google listed or if your business name is similar to another business, it could pull the wrong information. If your name or address is showing up incorrectly, please email promotions@newsouthmedia.com with the correction and we will address it as quickly as possible.
I am showing up in the wrong category on the ballot. What should I do?
If you are showing up in the wrong category, please email promototions@newsouthmedia.com with the category you should be listed in. We will make the correction as quickly as possible.
Why did my category disappear?
Check carefully—sometimes we change the wordings of categories to make them more clear. But we do also omit categories to try new ones—dozens are suggested to us each year. If we hear that a former category is sorely missed, we may try to bring it back.
Why wasn’t I notified that I was a finalist or a winner?
We do our best to notify finalists before the final round and winners after the final round ends. With 85 categories and many more contenders, it’s a challenge to maintain an up-to-date list of contact information. But, hey—we make it our business to be easy to find, so why not take it into your own hands? If you’re a nominee or finalist, send us your best contact name, e-mail address, mailing address, and phone numbers at promototions@newsouthmedia.com.
Will advertising give me an edge?
Advertising is not required to win, but it does help you reach no t only the individuals you push to vote for you, but also our audience of more than 150,000 from throughout the state and region.
We like to think advertising in our print and digital publications always gives you an edge with our readers. But it has no effect on our fair tally of the votes. Best of West Virginia winners are the readers’ choice. For more information about advertising opportunities visit our website.
Still got questions? Contact us at promototions@newsouthmedia.com.
