Readers’ Choice Awards winners being celebrated at inaugural event
The best of Butler County music, food and business will be on display Thursday, March 12, at the Butler Eagle Readers’ Choice Awards’ first in-person celebration.
The best of Butler County will convene at the Penn Theater at 5:30 p.m., with live music from Skye Burkett and The Pulse and food samples from several award-winning restaurants.
The Butler Eagle runs its annual Readers’ Choice Awards ballots in January, asking readers to pick their favorite business or group in categories including favorite brunch spot, favorite local band, favorite jewelry store, favorite toy store and more. The winners were determined by nearly 47,000 votes in just under 200 different categories.
The top three vote-earners in each category normally earn a certificate for a gold, silver or bronze award, but this year is different. Gold winners who attend the event will receive a plaque recognizing them as the best of the best, and all of the award winners are invited to commemorate their accomplishment.
At the inaugural Readers’ Choice Awards at the Penn Theater, some of the award-winning skills will be on display. For example, the Beacon Hotel will provide chicken wings and Pennie’s Bake Shop will provide sweets.
Tammy Schuey, publisher of the Butler Eagle, said she is happy to finally bring an event like this to life.
“It’s actually something I’ve wanted to do for years, and I’m excited that we’re actually getting it off the ground this year,” she said. “I think it’s worth it to celebrate our businesses here in Butler, and I’m looking forward to recognizing the good things that they do.”
Everyone is welcome to buy a ticket to the event, and experience the award winners that wowed Butler Eagle readers enough to earn their votes.
Debra Krelow, owner of the Beacon Hotel, said it was an honor to earn three Readers’ Choice Awards this year — best wings, best haunted house and corn maze, and best Fat Tuesday celebration. She said getting recognized for the Beacon’s haunted house is particularly notable, because it started out as a small corn maze started by her and her son, and it has grown to be a full production each year.
“We support the community, and the community supports us,” Krelow said. “The haunted house has become one of our biggest attractions. This is our 26th year.”
Keith Graham, vice president of advertising for the Butler Eagle, said the attending business owners can walk a red carpet and get a few photo opportunities to commemorate the occasion, alongside receiving their plaques or certificates.
“We’re going to run a list of winners on the big screen,” he said of the celebration, which will turn the spotlight toward businesses in Butler County.
Graham also said the certificates winners receive can be seen at myriad businesses around Butler County, because their owners take the awards as a point of pride.
“They’re honored to see these awards,” Graham said of winning businesses. “If you go into these places you’ll see years of these things — that exemplifies how serious these businesses take this.”
Schuey and Graham will speak at the event, to provide an opening and closing message respectively, and Laura Crago, the Butler Eagle’s podcast producer, will emcee.
According to Schuey, the speeches will be brief and aimed at celebrating the businesses and organizations for making Butler a great place to live and visit. The event is meant to be a celebration.
“It’s a chance to celebrate business in Butler County,” Schuey said. “It’s more about having fun.”
Enjoy the award-winning music and fun by securing a ticket for the event at www.thepenntheater.org/event-details-registration/butler-eagle-reader-choice-awards-are-back-bigger-than-ever.
