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The Austin Daily Herald on Tuesday will open up the nomination round of its annual Readers’ Choice Awards contest.

This contest is an important part of what we do, and in many ways gets to the heart of a healthy community, with the people themselves selecting the winners.

These are people who visit local businesses regularly and who have benefited firsthand from the good service or amenities the companies provide.

Healthy competition in a community can also foster positive outcomes like individual growth, innovation and a stronger sense of belonging. It encourages collaboration, promotes fair play and can lead to improved services or products.

The nomination round for this year’s contest will run through May 12 at www.austindailyherald.com/contests. Then, the top five nominations in each category advance to the voting round, which will be available online May 28 through July 3.

Ballots will be available in the print publication on June 7.

One random participant’s name will be drawn from the nomination round and one random participant’s name will be drawn from the voting round to each win a one-year digital membership to the Herald. 

Winners will be announced July 30.

We urge everyone to take part in this competition to honor those who deserve to be recognized with the Readers’ Choice Award.

And share the word with your friends and family. The more who are involved, the better.