The Best Is Yet To Come
Last January, we asked you, our readers, once again to fill out the ballot bound in the magazine to vote for your favorite businesses, services, and residents in the county. But the process of creating each “Best of Westchester” issue begins long before that. Even before the last banner is packed away from our last “Best of” party (more on the party later), our entire company is planning for the next one.
The editorial staff is on the prowl for new and wonderful things, places, and services to tell you about (turn to page 90 for their picks this year). The art department hunts for creative ways to make the design as compelling as our annual winners’ goods and services. And our marketing department—well, it begins thinking about the party it will throw the following year to celebrate our “Best of Westchester” winners. (The other departments contribute in a myriad of other ways.)
The result each year is our most popular issue, selling the most copies on the newsstand and creating the most buzz throughout the county. From the arduous task of tabulating and verifying the ballots for the readers’ picks to the agonizing choices of the editorial staff (passions run high when deciding which bakery, burger, or bistro really rates a “Best of” nomination), this truly is a labor of love. And I believe that this, our eighth annual Best of Westchester issue, is the best we’ve ever created.
After reading through the 304 picks, we hope you will feel compelled to attend our Best of Westchester Party, arguably the “best” party in Westchester, July 16 at the Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle. Last year, more than 3,000 people attended to sample the products and services of 120 winners and sponsors. This year’s party is shaping up to be the best ever! Our phones are already lighting up with calls from people wanting tickets and more information on how to get to go the party (hint: order your tickets early online at westchestermagazine.com).
And, speaking of our website, be prepared to find an easier to use, cleaner looking, more efficient site on your next visit. As if we didn’t have our hands full with publishing the magazine and planning a party for 3,000 or so of our favorite friends, we believed that you deserved a better website (although three of our blogs—Julia Sexton’s Eater, Marisa LaScala’s Poptional Reading, and Marisa Iallonardo’s Custom Fit, won the bronze, silver, and gold “W” awards, respectively, bestowed annually by the Ad Club of Westchester). Our goal is to create the same excitement at westchestermagazine.com as we have done with Westchester Magazine. We’ll have lots of interactivity: surveys and polls, a searchable dining guide with reviews, a comprehensive overview of every town in the county, and columns including a beauty product pick of the week and an “ask our fashion editor” column. You’ll find lots of things on the website that you won’t find in the magazine and we know that, once you visit, you will bookmark it.
Hope to see you at the party—and enjoy the summer!
Ralph A. Martinelli
Publisher
