The most anticipated special publication of the year is here, the Ahwatukee Foothills News’ Best Of Ahwatukee. We receive calls throughout the year for extra copies of this publication and questions on when voting for the next year will begin.

As a staff, we anticipate this publication and strive to improve it each year. This year we changed the online voting rules to keep up with this ever-growing and popular publication to insure that we keep it as fair as possible to all involved. We are excited to see that you all actively participated in the 2012 Best Of Ahwatukee online contest and understand that the Best Of Ahwatukee is very important to your business and our community. We hope the new rules improved the contest this year to make sure that everyone was placing their own individual votes. This contest truly should reflect the community’s Best Of.

In some respects, a contest like this is futile.

Really, don’t we already know the answer to that annual question: “Who/What Is The Best Of In Ahwatukee?”

In the broadest sense possible, it’s YOU, our readers. YOU, the patrons of each and every business you’ll see featured in this issue are the “Best Of Ahwatukee.” Even in times of tough economic strain, your willingness to support your local businesses proves just how strong the Ahwatukee Foothills community really is, and just how lucky we all are to be a part of it.

Thanks again to all the voters for their support, and to all the businesses included for their participation.

And, remember: if you misplace this printed issue in the coming weeks and don’t want to search high and low to find out the “Best Place To Watch The Game” or “Best Happy Hour,” head over to Ahwatukee.com and everything you see in this issue will be available right there, any time.

— AFN STAFF

The Ahwatukee Foothills News reserves the right to qualify all entries for eligibility. Voters will be required to enter their name, phone number and a valid email address in order to submit their vote. Voter information will not be used for publication; it is necessary for the AFN’s internal records only. Limit one vote per person per day. Any names we determine to be duplicated within a 24-hour period or any email addresses that are false will be disqualified. If a business is going to set up a voting station, it must have official approval from the AFN and register its IP address for tracking purposes at www.ahwatukee.com/best_of/registration. The station must be located at the place of business and votes must be cast during regular business hours. As we audit our votes, if we determine a business is unfairly padding the vote, they will receive one warning. Upon the second infraction, they will be disqualified from the Best of contest entirely. For questions regarding Best of Ahwatukee voting, please contact Kent Johnson, Ahwatukee Foothills News publisher, at kjohnson@ahwatukee.com.