All the Best: Superlatives

I never knew what superlatives were until I became one at the end of my eighth-grade year.

In that 1987 yearbook, I was voted Most Studious and Most Likely to Succeed. Those “Mosts” were given to me by my classmates, and you wouldn’t believe how important they were to me and my 14-year-old self-esteem. They gave me the boost to enter high school with a little more confidence than a typical freshman.

In this issue of akronlife magazine, we focus on the superlatives of Akron – The Best of the City. Every year, we ask our readers to share with us the people, places and things that they consider The Best in the Greater Akron area.

Think of it this way: If someone moves to our community, where would you tell him to go for pizza or a great cup of coffee? You’d want your new neighbor to support local businesses where the owners take time to know the names of customers, where the employees understand that customer service is a priority and not just lip-service, and where your neighbor would get his money’s worth and be guaranteed to have a good time/meal/drink/concert/haircut.

From year to year, we occasionally change our Best of the City categories to better represent the state of the Greater Akron area and its current trends. In this global economy, the “Best Steak” category exits and the “Best Sushi” category saunters in. The “Best Dive Bar” makes way for the “Best Locally-Brewed Beer.”

I’d like to think that I’m pretty much “in the know” when it comes to the Greater Akron area, but the Best of the City reader nominations often surprise me — in the best way. Your votes often represent “the buzz” in our region and give me ideas for future articles. They also help us promote locally-owned businesses and that, in turn, gives their owners a boost of confidence so they can continue doing extraordinary things.

>> If this July issue sparks your curiosity, come to our Best of the City Showcase, Aug. 9 at Summit Mall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Our 2014 winners will be accepting their awards, and current and past winners will be on-hand to show you why they were named “The Best.” Hope to see you there too!

All the best,

Abby Cymerman