It’s now July, and the second annual Best of Enid Event has come to a conclusion. Without you all, it wouldn’t have been possible. On behalf of us here at Enid Monthly, we want to thank you all for making the event such a success. The event sold out for a second year in a row, and it was a blast! Thank you to those who sponsored, which includes Gold and Silver Sponsors Natural Remedies, Enid C-Star, Unleashed Pet Grooming, Ladusau-Evans, Sandy’s Tacos, and all of our table sponsors and door prize sponsors – you are all very appreciated! The Stride Bank Event Center along with its staff and employees also deserve recognition because this wouldn’t have been possible without them. The food was great, the company was tremendous, and the memories will be forever cherished. Everyone gathered at the event to celebrate the Best of Enid, and there was a lot to celebrate. The event may have recognized businesses from around town, but it’s the community and the people here in Enid that make this city what it is. You are all the Best of Enid!
With over 60,000 votes, this year’s competition was close! Many categories were back and forth, and many of them came down to the literal last minute! In the end, the top 3 finalists of each category were cordially invited to the event, and everyone gathered to celebrate each other’s achievements. If you came out a winner, congratulations! If you ended up a finalist, congratulations as well! And for everyone else who was nominated, take pride in that nomination because the community members here in Enid see you and your business, and they recognize all the greatness that you do and bring to the community, so congratulations to you as well!
Events like these present an opportunity to be present and thankful for the community Enid has, and with so much going on constantly, it’s nice to gather with your peers for a night of enjoyment, recognition, celebration, and good times. Bryce Winters was one of the attendees at the event, and he said, “It was amazing seeing the community come together to celebrate all that Enid has accomplished! I love that we have someone giving recognition for our community’s hard work!” At the end of the night, everyone who came felt celebrated and had a good time because that’s really what the event was about – celebrating Enid and everything and everyone that makes Enid, Enid.
As each category was highlighted and the winners were announced, the audience got to see what makes Enid so special. Whether it was the thank you speeches given by the winners or the applause and celebrations for each winner from the audience, those in attendance got to witness the Enid community as a community. At an event where everyone wants to win, it was refreshing and inspiring to see everyone celebrate one another, even if it meant they didn’t win. The energy in the room was absolutely tremendous! Gold sponsor and Best Pet Groomer winner, Unleashed Pet Grooming, stated, “The evening was really nice. I went up against elite competition, and I’d just opened in August of 2022. So, it was an honor to be recognized, and I really enjoyed the event.”
Abby Grey was the photographer for the event, and she was able to capture so many special moments from the evening. She was there to greet each winner as they walked off the stage, and she was also there to capture moments from the audience and presenters.
As many of the winners said in their thank you speeches, each award and trophy was not an individual achievement – it truly takes a village. From the employees that make local businesses thrive to the community that shops local and voted for their favorites – you made the Best of Enid possible.
The doors opened at 6:00pm on June 1st, but the rain started just a little bit before that. Even through the storms and downpour, the Best of Enid still came out and showed up for one another. As people made their way to their seats, they gathered food and beverages and sat down to start the night. The food was spectacular, and the speaker, Jonathan Wilson, quickly got the ball rolling. Gloria Briley was another attendee, and she said, “As a new resident to Enid, I was very impressed with the strong community support for small businesses at the Best of Enid event. I witnessed that same community togetherness at the Christmas tree lighting, and it was so refreshing to see friends and family gathering to celebrate one another.” As winners were announced, each category had a song specific to that category, from “Who let the Dogs Out” for the Best Pet Groomer category to the “YMCA” for the Best Fitness/Gym category. There was so much thought and effort put into each part of the night, so it was amazing to see everything be executed and received so well.
For dinner, guests were served chicken cordon bleu, diced potatoes, broccoli, and a plethora of desserts! The food was raved about by many, and some were still talking about it a couple of weeks later. Good food paired with great drinks and even better people was a recipe for a great night!
It may have been pouring outside, but that didn’t dampen the evening. Almost everyone who purchased a sponsorship, table, and ticket was in attendance, so the seats were full, and the tables were packed. Gold sponsor, Enid C-Star, said “We had a wonderful time. We want to give a special thank you to Enid Monthly and the Stride staff for a wonderful evening. We look forward to next year’s event.”
The keywords for this year’s event were community, appreciation, acknowledgment, and engrossed. There are many other words applicable to the Best of Enid event, like joy, kindness, celebration, anticipation, and so on, but those four words were key at this year’s event.
Community
One of the things that stood out the most was the community at the event. Each one of the nominees celebrated the success of the other nominees, even if that meant they didn’t win. Everyone in attendance seemed to be genuinely happy for their neighbors and competitors, and that spoke volumes to the community here in Enid. In a small town where everyone knows everyone, it’s easy to be overly competitive, but that wasn’t the case. Everyone came together as a community, and everyone celebrated with one another as a community. With the outside world having so many controversies and lots of division, it was truly inspiring to see people of opposition and similarities come together and just enjoy themselves. The community here in Enid is second to none, and that’s why Enid is so special.
Appreciation
Another thing that was evident throughout the whole event was the appreciation. To begin with, we here at Enid Monthly appreciate you all for coming out again and making the night so special. Everyone who came out and everyone who was nominated is very appreciated. Without you all, there wouldn’t be anything to celebrate, acknowledge, or appreciate. So, thank you again for making Enid what it is. Appreciation was also evident in all of the attendees and businesses who were present. Silver sponsor and Best Funeral Home winner, Ladusau-Evans, said, “It is truly an honor to be able to help the families in the Enid community that have entrusted their loved ones with the Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home and Crematory. It is not a job for us, it’s a passion. We have been serving the Enid area for over 50 years. Thank you to the Enid community for trusting Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home and Crematory.” Whether you appreciated the opportunity to be acknowledged, the event, the food, or even just the fact that there was a bar, the appreciation could be felt throughout the room, and the feelings were mutual.
Acknowledgement
As the winners were announced, they made their way to the stage to accept their award. However, many didn’t accept their awards alone. A majority of the winners brought up their teams with them, and many of them even acknowledged their team individually. As a member of the audience, it was so lovely to see business owners and managers acknowledge and thank their teams. And as employees, we all know how nice it is to be acknowledged and celebrated by higher ups, and that was a big part of what made the night so special. Each winner knew that they couldn’t have done it alone, and that’s why so many of them thanked their phenomenal teams. Everyone there deserved every bit of recognition they got, and being able to have an event that does acknowledge and celebrate people for their hard work is so fulfilling.
Engrossed
To be engrossed means you’re giving someone or something all of your attention or interest, and everyone at the event was absolutely engrossed by the speaker. Eager with anticipation, everyone watched and listened as he went through each category announcing the winners of this year’s event. Often times people can get consumed by the technological world that they hold in their hands, but that wasn’t the case at the event. It was so rejuvenating to see people engaging in conversation and interacting with those around them. Many people were totally present and living in the moment, and that was phenomenal to witness. Gold sponsor and CBD/Cannabis winner, Natural Remedies, said, “We had a great time at the event! We enjoyed having the opportunity to attend, and we loved being able to socialize and hang out with our peers from around Enid. It was a great night, and we look forward to next year’s event!”
As things come to an end for this year’s Best of Enid Event, we want to thank you all again. You make Enid what it is today, and that alone is reason enough to celebrate! Thank you all for coming out to the event and supporting one another, and thank you to everyone who helped make this event possible. Until next year, stay safe, spread kindness, and always take a moment to celebrate those around you – we all deserve it. Thank you, Enid!
P.S.: FIND ALL THE FINALISTS AND WINNERS HERE: Best of Enid WINNERS! | Enid Monthly
