83 LONGISLANDPRESS.COM • MARCH 2020
SPOTLIGHT ON 2020 WINNERS
YOU VOTED, THEY WON
WINNERS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED
Honored. Thrilled. Ecstatic. Invigorated.
Blessed. These are just some of the
adjectives that past Bethpage Best of
Long Island contest winners have used
to describe winning their titles over
the years.
For mom-and-pop shops competing
against large corporations and internet
based retailers for customers,
just how much earning a Best of LI
title boosts business may be diffi cult
to quantify. But prior winners have
abundant anecdotal evidence of how
much it helps raise both their profi le
and their bottom line.
“The exposure of being voted the Best
Botox Practice and Day Spa of Long
Island has tremendously increased
my business,” says Dr. Kelly Mattone
of Medical Aesthetic Studio in Great
Neck, who won in 2019.
Mattone is one of the dozens of people,
businesses, nonprofi ts, and other
entities that won Best of LI titles in categories
ranging from pets to restaurants
last year. Winners of the 2020
contest were announced in February.
Nominations are now being accepted
for contenders in the 2021 contest.
“It’s an extraordinary honor to have
been chosen as Best Arts School on
Long Island,” says 2019 winner American
Theater Dance Workshop. “Aft er
25 years working on Broadway, it’s our
passion to share our vast experience
with the next generation of LI dancers
and performers.”
Some winners reacted as if they had
won the Super Bowl.
“I thank God every day for being blessed
to be the number one Matchmaker on
Long Island,” says MTN Matchmaking’s
Maureen Tara Nelson. “I absolutely
love what I do and winning this award
means the world to me and my team!”
Erin Colton, the News12 Long Island
anchor who once won Best Reporter
on Long Island, said it best when she
emceed the 2019 party for the contest
winners.
“There’s a ton of awards ... there’s
awards for everything now,” she said.
“But this is an award that is so cool for
so many diff erent reasons because people
in our community vote for it. Who
doesn’t want that? So, I would throw
away all the other awards except for
this one because people you live with,
people you respect, and people within
your community think that you are
good enough to win. So give yourselves
a round of applause for that.”
NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN!
Nominate your favorite businesses, people, charities, and entities
in the 2021 Bethpage Best of Long Island program through Aug
31. Winners of the 2020 contest have been contacted and will be
announced in February.
Step 1: Visit bestofl ongisland.com
Step 2: Click “2021 Nominates” and select category
Step 3: Fill out form
Step 4: Enter nominee’s information
Step 5: Repeat for all your favorite people and businesses.
To fi nd other Bethpage Best of Long Island contest winners, visit
bestofl ongisland.com
Brought to you by Bethpage Federal Credit Union
“This is an award that is so
cool for so many different
reasons because people in
our community vote for it,”
says Erin Colton.
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