Austin: You Ooze Greatness

Much like you, I imagine, I’ve done my fair share of eye-rolling at Austin circa 2024 – the endless development, the glacial pace of progress, the pack gallop toward the next buzzy thing, the heat my god the heat. But every year, my faith is restored when we roll out another Best of Austin and tens of thousands of our friends and neighbors sing the praises of this city. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and it infuses every page of this issue. How much enthusiasm? In our finalist round, nearly 27,000 people cast 285,000 votes and left 12,000 testimonials about the people and places they value most.

There are a number of folks who contributed to the making of this issue, our 34th annual Best of Austin Awards. It’s astonishing to me what Art Director Zeke Barbaro can conjure from just a few words (this year, it was basically: “what if slime?”). Associate Art Director Lauren Johnson is my absolute hero for taking on the herculean task of finding art for 200+ winners. Copy Editor Kat McNevins spares you from our many gaffes and makes us all look good. Systems Administrator Brandon Watkins and Web Consultant Brian Barry do essential things I don’t understand but am deeply grateful for. And the following extremely long list comprises the Editorial & Production staff, freelancers, and interns who also contributed to the cause: Carys Anderson, John Anderson, Brant Bingamon, Jana Birchum, Jessi Cape, Kevin Curtin, Madeline Duncan, Lina Fisher, Doug Freeman, Jeff Gammill, Miranda Garza, Benton Graham, Soafara Harison, Raoul Hernandez, Neha Kondaveeti, Cat McCarrey, Kat McNevins, Eric Puga, Meher Qazilbash, Rachel Rascoe, James Renovitch, A. Richmond, Austin Sanders, James Scott, Aaron Sullivan, Maggie Q. Thompson, Taylor Tobin, Derek Udensi, Camila Villarreal, Cy White, Richard Whittaker, Genevieve Wood, and Jasmine Iman Wright.

We couldn’t pay any of those folks without the gumption and great dedication of our sales staff, as well as the support staff that keep the trains running on time and the papers delivered all over town. Managing Editor James Renovitch, Marketing + Engagement Manager Cassie Arredondo, and PR maven Sarah Wolf are the ones spreading the message of what we do.

Finally, I want to say a massive thank you to Associate Publisher Cassidy Frazier, whose long-range vision for a sustainable future for the Chronicle has powered us through a challenging time, and to our owner Nick Barbaro, for his awesome commitment to this staff and to the little community newspaper he co-founded 43 years ago.

– Austin Chronicle Editor Kimberley Jones