Written by: Jim Button

I cannot believe it's almost the end of February. Not only is it a shortened month, but this winter with its fewer than usual Chinooks has thrown me for a bit of a loop. I am looking to get out of the February blues and cannot wait for spring to find its way back to this great city.

But with only two days left in the month, it means your ability to weigh in on which organizations, companies and people deserve to be put on a pedestal and celebrated is coming to a quick end.

When we started Best of Calgary we did it with two thoughts in mind:

First of all, we knew many Calgarians were really getting caught up in the malaise caused by low oil prices. There was an ill-informed belief that as the sector goes the whole city goes. I do not believe this to be true, nor will I ever allow these forces to control my destiny. And I think there are many others that would agree. There is so much momentum in other sectors that we should be celebrating our expansion and not wallow in the malaise of one industry…no matter how large, important and foundational it is. It’s just not healthy to have all our eggs in one basket so let’s celebrate all the great things going on in our city and along the way we can pull the energy industry up and help give it time to find its way out of the doldrums. By voting you are helping to honour excellence, you are placing a spotlight on the people, organizations and companies that are leading the way. The more we celebrate the great things going on in the city, the better we all become as a result.

Secondly there is still so much to be done to make this city an even better place to live, work and play. So, the second responsibility of Best of Calgary is to provide forums, meetings, labs and conversations to bring engaged Calgarians together to see what can be done to improve our favourite city. The more engaged we all become the more voices and ideas can be heard and acted upon.

So, do me and our city a favour. Take the time to vote by Wednesday and if you see a company, person or organization that isn’t on the list please add their name…and then when next November comes make sure you help them get on to the list. Both work, but one is much easier.

After you have voted, feel free to share and then start looking at what our plans are for the end of May…so many fun things coming your way.

Jim Button is a co-founder of Best of Calgary