Our first voter was Lisa Buchanan of Coppell. She clocked in at 5:33 a.m. on April 2. Our last voter was Tom Shook of Richardson, who squeaked in under the midnight deadline at 11:43 p.m. on April 24.

In between Lisa and Tom, more than 2,200 other area residents voted in our 2009 Neighbors Choice Awards. Today's special edition provides the results of those votes, plus profiles of some of the winners written by our editors.

Who's behind the local scenes cooking up some of your favorite dishes? Where do your neighbors go if their vehicles need a tuneup? Find out in this issue.

We deliberated last year over what to name these awards. Awesome titles like Top Dog, Local Leader and No. 1 Neighbor were mentioned, but they didn't quite make the cut.

We decided that Neighbors Choice Awards was the most appropriate name because it communicates that you, residents of the communities we serve, choose the categories and the winners.

On behalf of our publisher, Diane Hartley, our managing editor, Oscar Martinez, and all the neighborsgo editors and advertising account executives who are here to help you share the good news about your communites, I would like to congratulate all our winners.

We hope the winners, chosen by their own communities, feel as thrilled about receiving this honor as we do in bestowing it.

Don't see your favorites? Be sure to vote next year and encourage your friends, family members and neighbors to do the same! For complete lists from all 18 neighborsgo editions, please visit neighborsgo.com/vote.

Also, just as this publication depends on you to let us know what's happening in your neighborhoods, we also depend on you for ideas that will help Neighbors Choice be even better next year.

With this in mind, I invite you to share your feedback with me at lbesse@neighborsgo.com. No email? No problem - call me at 214-977-8469 or drop me a line c/o neighborsgo/The Dallas Morning News, 508 Young St., Dallas, TX 75202.

We want to know which categories you liked, which you didn't and which we should've included. Remember, this is YOUR contest. You run the show and we'll do all the heavy lifting (ballot counting, address checking, frame stuffing)!

You can make a big impact on how this awards process evolves and improves, but you need to take the first step and contact us.

Thanks again for being such great readers, and don't forget to post your stories and photos on neighborsgo.com for a chance to appear in print!

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Laura Besse is Community Relations Coordinator for neighborsgo and was a proud member of the drill team in high school. You can reach her at lbesse@neighborsgo.com or at her blog at neighborsgo.com/blog/connection.