Best of Sumter contest celebrates the best of everything in our community

Welcome to one of my favorite (and busiest) times of the year, Best Of season! With contests in Sumter and Clarendon underway, our staff at The Item is gearing up to celebrate more than 500 winners across the two counties.

For Sumter, this is the 25th anniversary of the contest, although its growth has multiplied in recent years. What started as a mail-in ballot of a few dozen local favorites has transformed into a celebration extravaganza, complete with hundreds of thousands of votes, a red-carpet event and year-round showcase.

The "best," of course, is open to healthy debate, personal preference and interpretation. Most of us don't try, for instance, every dentist in town. That sounds painful just typing the words. But the winner of that category and others is inevitably a business that has favor within parts of the community and may help future customers on their own path.

Best Of contests epitomize the celebration of community that leads our coverage at The Item. Although we also serve to protect the community and shed light on things happening around you, one of our primary focuses is building the best within our Sumter communities.

Our year-round coverage celebrates Sumter, its people and its businesses. The Item is unapologetically pro-Sumter. We want to help you live your best life.

If this coverage is important to you, I'd ask you to join our cause by subscribing to The Item at theitem.com/subscribe or by calling our office.

We look forward to the celebration.

Vince Johnson is publisher of The Sumter Item.