Knoxville slam poet Daniel Roop once wrote a poem called "Sunsphere Shots." In it, he expresses frustration and, ultimately, hope for Knoxville and the surrounding area. Roop praises the region for that which it deserves to be praised.

That's what the annual East Tennessee's Best Readers Poll seeks to do. East Tennessee has a lot that makes us gush. We're famous for author James Agee, professional wrestler Jeff Jarrett and film director Quentin Tarantino. We can boast about a World's Fair, A.C. Entertainment (producer of the Bonnaroo Music Festival) and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Heck, even Bart Simpson and his friends paid our area a visit.

Each year, we like to celebrate how much good stuff we have. We like to remind the country that if it weren't for us, there'd be no Dolly Parton, no Bush's Baked Beans, no Regal Cinemas. Who would want to live in a world like that? Not us.

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

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

The $1,000 first-place prize went to Lisa DeFreece.

The $500 prize went to Amy Fain.

The $250 prize went to Bill Brown.

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. Each category has two runners-up.