Voting is now open in Indiana Chamber’s Coolest Thing Made in Indiana Contest
The first ever Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament has officially tipped off with online voting now open. The Indiana Chamber of Commerce contest, which celebrates the state’s long manufacturing history, boasts a 65-company field. Nearly 50 Hoosier communities in 35 counties are represented.
Online voting for the competition takes place at www.indianachamber.com/coolestthing.
Entered companies face off in a single-elimination bracket format with winners chosen through public fan voting. Each winner goes to the next round until the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana champion is crowned. For fairness, the initial matchups were generated via an online randomizer, notes the Indiana Chamber.
“We put the call out for months that we wanted to hear from manufacturers of all kind of things – and we certainly did. Among the entries are very familiar products and some emergent ones that are just starting to make their mark,” says Kevin Brinegar, Indiana Chamber president and CEO.
“We encourage all entrants to get the word out to their staff and on their social media accounts to rally support for their product.”
Each entrant includes a photo and product description to aid in voting. A voter may vote once per matchup per round. The number of votes received will be reset at the beginning of each round.
Voting for the first round concludes on Sunday, January 16 and overall on February 14. The timeline of each round of voting:
Round 1: Week of January 10
Round 2: Week of January 17
Round 3: Week of January 24
Round 4: Week of January 31
Semis: February 7-9
Finals: February 10-14
The champion will be announced February 15 at the Indiana Chamber’s Chamber Day Event.
The Coolest Thing Made in Indiana contest is sponsored by MCA CPAs & Advisors.
The field is comprised of manufacturers from Anderson, Angola, Argos, Batesville, Bloomington, Brownstown, Carmel, Centerville, Decatur, DeMotte, East Chicago, Elkhart, Elizabethtown, Elwood, Evansville, Fishers, Fort Wayne, Frankfort, Franklin, Goshen, Greens Fork, Hammond, Indianapolis, Jeffersonville, Kokomo, Lafayette, Mishawaka, Nappanee, New Albany, Newburgh, Newtown, Noblesville, Pendleton, Plymouth, Portland, Princeton, Rochester, Sellersburg, South Bend, South Whitley, Syracuse, Terre Haute, Valparaiso, Warsaw, Wawaka, Westfield and Zionsville.
Entry in the tournament is free. To participate, a company did not need to be headquartered in Indiana, but the product entered must be manufactured in the state. Companies are limited to having one product nominated for entry.
Various sponsorship opportunities are still available for the competition. Contact Jim Wagner at jwagner@indianachamber.com or visit the web site.
The Indiana Chamber’s goal with the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana program is “to showcase the wide variety of manufacturing taking place in the state that has helped our economy thrive.”