Believe it or not, that’s the total number of nominations that were received during this year’s 10-day Best of the Pine Belt nomination period.
“This year’s participation during the nomination period, hands down, is the largest in the contest’s 11-year history,” explained David Gustafson, publisher of Signature Magazine, which presents the annual contest in conjunction with FestivalSouth. “We’re both humbled and overwhelmed – in a good way – to see how well the contest has been received by the voting public.”
A new-and-improved tabulation system is also credited for the increased participation, said Gustafson
The six finalists in each category will be announced at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26 live on WUSM 88.5 and streamed live on the Signature Magazine Facebook page as well as on YouTube, Periscope, Livestream, and also online at the magazine’s website: HubCitySPOKES.com
Voting for this year’s competition begins at 12:01 a.m. this Saturday, Feb. 29, Leap Day and continues through the middle of May. A complete schedule is available in the February issue of Signature and on the magazine’s website.
“Based on the record response during nominations, we anticipate the same type of turnout when voting begins,” said Gustafson.
