The first-ever Hammy Awards, recognizing the people, businesses, places and institutions we all love in Isle of Wight and Surry, are off to a rousing start, and it’s not too late to have a say on who makes our summer ballot.

Nominations continue through Monday in more than 100 categories at https://www.smithfieldtimes.com/hammy-awards-2021/#// At this writing, more than 2,000 nominations had been received.

Have a favorite teacher, pastor, home health care nurse? How about a favorite real estate agent, insurance agent or financial adviser? Does your family have a favorite restaurant?

As our community and economy emerge from a collective funk caused by COVID-19, this is an especially good time to celebrate all that’s right about Smithfield, Isle of Wight and Surry. The Hammys are designed to do just that, culminating with a grand announcement of the winners in September after a round of voting this summer on the nominees you’ve selected.

There are eight ballots to choose from: Around Town, Arts & Entertainment, Best Overall, Eating & Drinking, Health & Wellness, Services, Shopping and Sports & Fitness. Each ballot contains many categories.

It’s simple to nominate. Just visit the link above, choose a category (or many), make your nomination, and fill in your email address. Continue and complete the registration form. Note that you must register in order for the nomination to be counted. Readers who make nominations in at least 50 categories will go in a drawing for a $100 prize.

The nomination phase will close Monday at 11:59 p.m. Once the nominations are tabulated, the top nominees in each category will advance to the voting round set to start in July.

Winners will be recognized in a special print and online section once the voting round has ended and the votes have been tallied and verified.

Spread the news and spread some love. Tell your family and friends to nominate their favorites.