Independent used car dealers omitted from paper's recognition
Editor:
In August 2003, The Columbia County News-Times asked its readers to choose the businesses they singled out as the best.
Problem No. 1 is that many named are not even in Columbia County. Secondly, how can you have a single winner, then list two and three businesses? Seems to me, in fairness to those categories with only one winner listed, thats what you should have done with all of them.
Having said that, and being careful not to sound like sour grapes, The News-Times is to be commended for its average effort, particularly on behalf of those businesses that received votes and consequently received what amounts to free advertising. Where The News-Times really missed the boat, and what Im extremely angry about, is the category it completely ignored and left out: independent used car dealers!
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People are going to purchase three things for certain: A place to live, food, and a used car. After all, everyone drives a used car. Even after calling The News-Times to express my concerns, nothing was published. Yes, I know the response will be we couldnt get everybody. Well, whom did The News-Times leave out? As past president of the CSRA Georgia Independent Automobile Dealers Association (15 years) and current owner-operator of an independent automobile dealership in Columbia County (21 years), I speak for more than 200 dealers currently running a business in the CSRA and The News-Times arrogance for omitting us is compounded when it had, for example: favorite marina (what are there, three?), martial arts school (two?) place to buy musical instruments, and then list two places alone for chicken.
I doubt youll respond to this, let alone publish it, but if you do, an apology and not some excuses to the many hard-working, independent automobile dealers in this area would be helpful.
Dan Lindbom
Harlem
(Editors note: The Community Choice Award ballot included a section in which readers could add any categories and choices they believed were omitted. Those categories, and others brought to the attention of The News-Times, may be included in the 2004 Community Choice Awards ballot.)