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Options Magazine presents the second annual Options Awards –– honoring Rhode Island’s LGBTQ communities. Help Options nominate and select who should be awarded this year.
Rhode Island is filled with options for Queer and Trans peoples. Yet, what pick is the best option? Who deserves the Options Award – nicknamed just the O – in bartending or real estate? Well, Options Magazine is inviting readers to nominate and vote on their favorite local places and people for the first annual Options Awards!
Nominations are open until July 31st. Finalists will be notified that week if they would like to be considered for an Options Award. Voting on finalists will be open from Mid August through Mid September. Winners will be announced at a public celebration in October. Each category will have up to five finalists that will be voted on by Options readers. Winners will be announced at a public celebration in October.
To be eligible to be nominated, a person, place, event, business, or organization must be based or work in the State of Rhode Island. Individuals can vote once per valid email address per day that agrees to subscribe to Options twice a month free newsletter. One does not need to nominate someone in every category.
Options Magazine reserves the right to vet all nominations and remove entries from consideration if they do not fit the category, the nominee does not wish to be nominated, the nomination is designed to troll the community, or other reasons. Winning an Options Award is not an endorsement from Options Magazine for public office or any other kind of endorsement and the award does not bestow a financial gift to the winner. Finalists are selected based on the number of nominations they receive and other factors to ensure a diverse selection of entries is lifted up for consideration. An example would be if 10 take-out establishments were nominated and the top five were all national chains, Options may put forth a few local establishments as part of the finalists selected. A person or place may be a finalist in multiple categories, but Options Magazine reserves the right to limit the number of categories a person or place can be a finalist in to no more than three categories and may discuss this with the nominee. Some winners may be asked to talk on the record. for winner profiles. Options reserves the right to announce the runner-up, but if a runner-up doesn’t wish to be announced, if asked, Options may omit the runner-up and either make no mention of a runner-up or consider publishing an editor’s choice in the runner-up section category. Options may also remove or combine categories after nominations before the finalists vote for any reason. To be eligible to be nominated, a person, place, event, business, or organization must be based, work or in some other way have a connection to the State of Rhode Island. Individuals can vote once per valid email address per day that agrees to subscribe to Options twice a month free newsletter. The public is welcome to campaign for their desired nominees on social media, through email blasts, and other polite public outreach. Options reserves the right to and will disqualify individuals, organizations, or establishments that defame, disparage or attack other nominees, Options volunteers, or Options board members. Individuals filling out the nomination form are not required to nominate someone in every category. The most important thing to remember is the goal of the Options Awards is to have fun and bring the community together.