You're probably aware that a 25th anniversary is known as a silver anniversary, that a 50th anniversary is worth its weight in gold and that 75th anniversaries mean diamonds are forever.

So what are we supposed to use to celebrate this, the sixth anniversary of our annual East Tennessee's Best Readers Poll?

Well, according to a greeting card we read once, a sixth anniversary is marked by iron, which certainly beats the Cotton Anniversary. So if anyone wants to send us a broad sword or a bottle of vitamin supplements, we'd very much appreciate it.

But this isn't about us or our desperate search for transition metals. This is about East Tennessee and how great it is. This is about the people, places and businesses that make this a place unlike any other. It's about mountains and football and catching fireflies in your grandparents' back yard on cool summer nights. It's about our readers' favorites in Dining & Food, Shopping & Services and Pastimes.

This year News Sentinel readers voted in 101 categories to bestow the title of East Tennessee's Best to different businesses and entities throughout the region. More than 3,100 ballots were counted to come up with the winners.

Everyone who voted in at least half the categories was entered into our cash prize drawing.

The $1,000 first place prize went to Christine Clark.

The $500 prize went to Ernest McGill.

The $250 prize went to Karla Crawley.

One category — Best Category We Missed — doesn't have a distinctive winner. Instead, we've listed a medley of reader suggestions for what should be included on next year's ballot.

The other 100 categories include a list of runners-up. Some categories only have one runner-up, while others have several. Only those with a significant number of votes made the list.