The Cullman Times Best of the Best: How Voting Works & How to Win

What is The Cullman Times Best of the Best, and who runs it?

The Cullman Times, a newspaper publishing from Cullman in north central Alabama, owns this program outright. Best of the Best is its community favorites franchise, in which readers name the businesses, people and places they rate highest around town, which makes it a whole-community ballot rather than a niche award. For the 2025 competition the paper brought in Rouses Market as a partner and described the program in an editorial as "this annual celebration of local business and people."

The balloting itself happens on Second Street. The paper's ballot lives at thecullmantimes.secondstreetapp.com, where the latest entry carries the printed title "The Cullman Times Best of the Best 2026" and is typed as a Ballot/NominationAndVotingBallot promotion under The Cullman Times' organization listing. One detail matters before taking part: the paper adds new reader-suggested categories annually, so the lineup shifts between editions and a past list never guarantees the next one.

Which editions are on record, and when did the 2026 window run?

Two editions are on file. The 2026 ballot opened on April 13, 2026 and closed on July 1, 2026, dates printed on the promotion listing, which now stands marked closed. The 2025 round survives through the paper's own channels: an editorial dated May 19, 2025 asked readers "Who's going to be the Best of the Best this year?" and pointed to that year's contest page, and a Facebook post afterward announced "Here is the Best of the Best list for 2025! Thanks for voting!" Taken together they trace a full cycle, from launch appeal to published results list.

The rhythm is annual, so attention naturally turns to 2027. What has not appeared anywhere public is the fine print: the newspaper has not printed the category roster, a per-supporter voting limit or eligibility terms beside the ballot; confirm on the live ballot each cycle. Until the next launch post lands, the paper's website and social feeds are where fresh dates and any rules will show up first.

How does voting work on the Cullman Best of the Best ballot?

Backing a nominee takes only a few minutes. Once the window opens, a supporter loads the ballot at the paper's Second Street address, moves through the categories on offer, marks a selection in each field and sends the form off. Because the promotion is typed as a nomination-and-voting ballot, the live page may present a nomination step before voting proper begins; whichever stage is current shows on screen when a visitor arrives.

Practical points for supporters

Three things follow from that setup. Participation costs nothing, since voting happens on the newspaper's own platform rather than through any ticketed gateway. The form behaves like any website a Cullman reader already uses, so a handset reaches it comfortably and no app install stands in the way. And repeat-visit behavior is settled by whatever the form applies at the moment of voting, because no standing rule text travels with the promotion listing. Timing matters as well: the 2026 stretch ran from spring into midsummer, giving nominees a long runway, and any early nomination phase rewards prompt attention.

How does the Cullman ballot compare with other Alabama readers' choice programs?

Alabama readers have plenty of community ballots to weigh, and this site profiles six siblings alongside the Cullman program. About Town's Best of Birmingham covers Birmingham favorites through the About Town publication, AIA Birmingham People's Choice opens a public vote under the AIA Birmingham banner, and Best Of Birmingham Home & Garden 2026 narrows to that retail and design niche. Farther out sit the Alabama Music Awards, Best of Marshall County 2026 with its own countywide slate, and the Best Pets of the Wiregrass Calendar Photo Contest!, a photo-driven pet ballot.

Where Cullman differs

What separates this ballot from each of them is the combination of a hometown newspaper organizer, a scope spanning businesses, people and places, and a spring-to-summer voting stretch. Where the Wiregrass contest leans on photographs and the music awards on an industry, the Cullman version is straight community popularity, decided by whoever turns out to vote. That breadth shapes campaigning too, since a nominee might be a restaurant, a teacher or a park, and the audience is the paper's own readership.

How can a Cullman business strengthen its standing in the ballot?

A long window changes how a campaign should be run. With voting stretching from mid-April into July, a nominee on this ballot holds weeks rather than days to gather support, so steady reminders beat a single announcement. Moves that fit this program: ask for the vote at the register, print the ballot address on receipts and counter signage, post a reminder when the window opens and again near the close, and thank backers openly once results appear.

Campaigns that want help beyond their own customer base can study the methods gathered in this guide to earning more votes, which covers free and paid approaches side by side. Whichever route a nominee considers, the terms printed on the ballot itself come first, since the newspaper has published no position of its own on outside assistance.