OUR VIEW
We’re encouraged by the activity that has filled downtown Elizabethtown. There’s two more days to go in this year’s annual sidewalk sale that accompanies the Fourth of July.
And there’s more days than that to let everyone know about your favorite merchant, regardless of whether they’re in that sale.
The Bladen Journal, the most trusted and the most award-winning county source of news and information for better than a century, has less than a week left in its annual Readers’ Choice selections. We’ll share the results in a special section July 31.
This is fun competition. For starters, every one of our businesses in Bladen County is a winner. We have great places and things to do, awesome people, some of the best shopping spots available regardless of size, and eating establishments we like to tell our friends about.
Bragging rights? You betcha! They are absolutely on the line.
But rest assured, these friends will wish everyone well. We’ve so often heard our merchants say that, if there’s something they are out of or don’t have, they’ll give a shopper a point toward someone else in town that can help them.
Neighbors helping neighbors.
It’s how things get done in Bladen County. We’re rural, we’re a very large amount of land at nearly 900 square miles, and yet we’re not a large population at about 33,000.
Like anywhere in America, we have our favorites. Our parents and grandparents got us going on some; others we found all by ourselves.
Eighteen places and things, 20 people, 20 kinds of places to shop, and 20 choices for the best foods and spots to dine.
We listed plenty of choices for each of those 78, but we also gave a space for write-ins. Yes, every place in the county has a shot to win.
And as we saw as recently as last year, there are a few places outside the county lines that provide stiff — and winning — competition. We believe our beloved in the county will be rivaled again.
That’s why it is all the more important for everyone to not only vote, but to share the word with their friends.
The absolute last minute to vote is 11:59 p.m. Sunday. That’s through the internet, and there’s a flashing notice on our website at BladenJournal.com to help everyone get there. Want to mail in the print edition ballot? Great! But it needs to be postmarked by Thursday. Same goes for dropping them off at our temporary office in Suite C at 207 E. Broad St. — the building that houses the chamber of commerce office.
We’re thrilled to salute the best of the best. And we’re extremely thankful for our readers making it all happen.
There’s a lot of good things in and around Bladen County. Be sure your vote for them counts!