By KATIE MCDOWELL/General Manager

There is a reason Shelby County consistently placed at or near the top of quality of life rankings.

Simply put, it is the best place to live, go to school and do business. That is what Shelby Living’s Best of the Best contest is all about: Honoring those people and businesses that make Shelby County the wonderful place that it is today.

It is hard to believe it, but this is the fourth annual Best of the Best contest. Over the years, thousands of our readers have voted in our online contest.

The most popular categories are typically food-related, usually Best Bakery or Best Barbecue. Those are also pretty competitive categories, although the competition is also stiff in Best Museum, Best Farmers Market and Best Annual Festival.

Over the years, we have received requests for additional categories, and the contest has grown. The 2014 contest features 78 categories in eight subgroups: Dining and Nightlife, Arts and Culture, Health and Beauty, Services, Places, Home and Finance, Shopping and Auto. New categories include Best Crossfit, Best Library, Best Bank and Best Local Fundraiser.

If you’re proud of your hometown dentist, we hope you’ll let him or her know by voting in this contest. Do you think the Helena Farmers Market is the best in the county? Then make sure to cast your vote!

We also hope you’ll spread the word of the contest through Facebook, Twitter or your website. The biggest vote-getters in our contest definitely used technology to their advantage.

How do you vote? It’s simple. Visit Shelby Living.com and click on the “Best of the Best” tab near the top of the page. Read the instructions, then follow the link to start voting. You don’t have to fill in every category, and we ask that you only vote once. Winners will be announced in the October issue of Shelby Living.

This contest is a great opportunity to thank the businesses, organizations and people who support you throughout the year.

So, go ahead. Play favorites.