Ohio Magazine to Present Best Hometown Award to Urbana

Ohio Magazine staff members, including Publisher and Editor Richard Osborne, will make a special appearance Saturday, July 9 at the Champaign County Balloon Festival to officially recognize Urbana as the magazine’s 2011 selection for Best Hometown of southwest Ohio.

Ohio Magazine initially announced Urbana as the winner in the November 2010 edition.

The public presentation will be made 6 p.m. Saturday at the Balloon Fest, at Grimes Field. Osborne will be joined in the presentation by Marilyn Tanious, account executive, and Jessica Minarczyk, advertising coordinator for Ohio Magazine.

The presentation will be made shortly before a planned evening launch of the festival’s 16 hot air balloons. A total of four launches are planned – 6:30 p.m. Friday, 7 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. Sunday.

The balloons also will be featured in balloon glows at about 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday, when the balloonists fire up their balloons on the ground to make them glow like giant light bulbs.

“It’s special events like the Balloon Festival and local attractions like Grimes Field and its museums that contribute to Urbana being selected as a Best Hometown,” Tina Knotts, executive director of the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Bureau, said. “We chose to schedule the Best Hometown presentation at an event like the Balloon Festival so we would have a crowd on hand to share in the celebration.”

Copies of the Urbana Best Hometown issue of Ohio Magazine will be available for sale at the Balloon Festival information tent, beginning at 3 p.m. Friday. Magazine subscriptions also will be available at a special rate that includes at no charge the Urbana edition and the July edition, which also features the city.