Best of Clarksville: How Voting Works & How to Win

What Best of Clarksville is and who runs it

Best of Clarksville is a community-voted business awards program for Clarksville, Tennessee. The organizer carries the same name as the program, Best of Clarksville, and runs everything from its own domain at bestofclarksville.org rather than through a newspaper or a third-party balloting platform. That makes it unusual among Tennessee best-of programs, most of which are published by local media outlets.

The format is a two-stage cycle. First, residents nominate their favorite local businesses during a July window. Then the cycle closes with an in-person event where attendees vote for their favorites and the winners are crowned Best of Clarksville. The organizer describes the tradition on its about page as an annual invitation for the community to nominate and vote, culminating in a high-energy event where finalists showcase what they do best.

The program's reach is long for a single-city award. Local coverage notes that Best of Clarksville has recognized the region's top businesses since 1996, and the organizer's own about page states that 2026 will be the 30th annual event. The editions confirmed so far fall in 2025 and 2026.

Key facts

The 2026 dates and the program's dated facts

The dated spine of the 2026 cycle is fixed. Nominations begin July 1, 2026 and end on July 31, 2026, and the nominations page states that the window is open in the month of July only. The finale follows on October 1, 2026, when participating businesses are invited to Governor's Square Mall and the attendees present vote for their favorites. Winners are chosen from the participating businesses and crowned Best of Clarksville at that event.

What the nominations page does not print is the day-level schedule for the October round, and no platform round dates exist for this market because the program lives on the organizer's own domain; confirm on the live ballot each cycle. The organizer has also not published eligibility terms beyond the daily nomination limit.

On breadth, the nominations page itself prints sample category names, such as Best Bakery, Best Bank, Best Barber, Best Local Brewery, Best Caterer and Best Childcare Center, rather than one complete roster, and the organizer has not published a full count of the categories.

On history, the editions confirmed so far fall in 2025 and 2026. The organizer counts 2026 as the 30th annual event, and regional coverage traces recognition of the region's top businesses back to 1996, which makes this one of the longest-running single-city business awards in Tennessee.

How a supporter nominates and votes today

The literal mechanic has two parts, and they work differently.

The first part is the nomination form at bestofclarksville.org/nominations/. It is open in July only. A supporter names a favorite business and submits the form, and per the organizer's published terms you may nominate your favorite business one time per day per valid email address. That daily return is the lever a business's supporters actually control during the online stage: a customer who wants a bakery, a barbershop or a childcare center on the ballot can come back each day of the window with the same address.

The second part is the event vote. On October 1, 2026, nominated businesses are invited to Governor's Square Mall, and the people in the room vote for their favorites. Winners are crowned at the event. This means the decisive ballots are cast in person, not through a link, so the audience that matters on the final day is the one that shows up.

No account system is described on the nominations page, and the organizer has set out no terms about how event attendees cast their choices beyond the statement that attendees will vote for their favorites at the event.

How Best of Clarksville sits beside its Tennessee neighbours

Tennessee has a crowded field of best-of programs, and Best of Clarksville is distinct within it on three points.

First, the host. The readers' poll from the Times Free Press in Chattanooga and Cityview Best of the Best in Knoxville are publisher-run contests, while the BroadwayWorld Memphis Awards and BroadwayWorld Nashville Awards cover theatre rather than local business. Best of Clarksville answers to no publisher; it is the organizer's own program on its own domain.

Second, the finish. CommunityVotes Chattanooga runs its cycle entirely online, but Best of Clarksville ends at a physical event at Governor's Square Mall where attendees vote in the room. A business campaigning here has to plan for October 1, not just for a URL.

Third, the age. With recognition running since 1996 and 2026 billed as the 30th annual event, this program predates most of its Tennessee neighbours. Its confirmed editions so far are 2025 and 2026, and a 2027 cycle is the natural next step for an annual program of this shape.

Readers comparing markets can also look at the BroadwayWorld Nashville Awards and BroadwayWorld Memphis Awards.

Strengthening support in this program

Because the deciding vote is cast in a room, support for a Best of Clarksville campaign splits into two different jobs.

The July job is nominations. The organizer's published limit is one nomination per day per valid email address, so the honest play is to ask every customer, once a day, for the full window. A reminder sign at the register or a link in a receipt email fits the terms; anything that pushes past one nomination per address per day does not.

The October job is turnout. On October 1, 2026 the votes come from attendees at Governor's Square Mall, so a business that fills the room with people who already chose it has done the work this format actually rewards. Paid vote packages built for online click polls do not map onto an in-person ballot, and no outside service can walk through the mall doors for your supporters. Our award votes page explains what paid support can and cannot do in formats like this one.