Voting now open for Sumter Item's Best of Clarendon 2021 contest

The nominations are in, and that means it's now your time to cast your vote.

The public can now vote daily for Best of Clarendon 2021, The Sumter Item's annual reader's choice contest that last year brought in more than 75,000 votes.

Vote daily at www.theitem.com/bestofclarendon in more than 200 categories through April 15. Nominees that receive the most votes in each category will be named Best of Clarendon. No subscription to The Sumter Item or purchase is necessary to vote or win.

Winners will be publicly released in the Best of Clarendon magazine, which will be inserted in The Sumter Item's Weekend Edition June 26-28. The red carpet winners celebration was held virtually in 2020 because of the pandemic, and with vaccines being administered now, The Item is tentatively planning an in-person event for Thursday, July 29.

There will also be ballots printed periodically in The Sumter Item so voters can write their choices in and submit to The Item office, 36 W. Liberty St.

All winners who receive the most votes in their category - you can win in as many categories as you're nominated for - will receive a free Best of Clarendon window cling, framed certificate and ticket to the red carpet event. A winners list will also be published in the magazine and on the Best of Clarendon website throughout 2021.

If you or your business have been nominated, register at www.theitem.com/bestofclarendon to receive a free promotion kit and to learn more about promoting your nomination. This is also how winners will be contacted.

If you have any questions about promoting your nomination, contact your Sumter Item sales representative. If you do not have one, email Devin McDonald at devin@theitem.com, Karen Cave at karen@theitem.com or Mark Pekuri at mark@theitem.com.