I wanted to send out a thank you to all of our members who have been voting in The Best of McKinley Park , our members' choice contest to pick neighborhood favorites. We just launched this a couple days ago, and we're off to a great and thrilling start to voting!

As mentioned in our press release , it's also my hope that The Best of McKinley Park aids every entrant by raising awareness about all of the excellent services, goods and amenities we have right here in our neighborhood. 

Indeed, as I was putting the lists together for each contest, I was reminded of many places I had not visited in a long time, and even a couple I've never visited before!

It occurred to me that to be an informed voter, I might get out and patronize these entrants to make sure I'm making an informed choice. Of course this helps these spots, and it also keeps our spending and buying local.

I'd encourage our readers to check out and patronize the many excellent businesses, organizations, hangout spots and more in The Best of McKinley Park. And if you haven't voted yet, log in and vote to pick your favorites!