Southern Indiana Business Report
INDIANAPOLIS — The competition for the first Coolest Thing Made in Indiana tournament has been fierce with thousands of votes cast, according to the new event’s host, the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.
Voting in the second weekly round is now underway with the remaining 32 teams from 28 communities around the state. Public fan voting for this round ends Sunday, Jan. 23. In the single-elimination bracket, each winner goes to the next round until the Coolest Thing Made in Indiana champion is crowned.
Online voting for the competition takes place at www.indianachamber.com/coolestthing.
The round of 32 field is comprised of manufacturers from Anderson, Angola, Batesville, Brownstown, Centerville, Decatur, DeMotte, Elkhart, Elwood, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Frankfort, Goshen, Greens Fork, Indianapolis, Lafayette, New Albany, Newburgh, Newtown, Plymouth, Portland, Princeton, Mishawaka, Rochester, Sellersburg, South Bend, Valparaiso and Wawaka. Anderson, Indianapolis and Lafayette have multiple companies left in the contest.
Voting in the final weekly round will conclude Feb. 14, and the champion will be announced Feb. 15 at the Indiana Chamber’s Chamber Day Event. The Coolest Thing Made in Indiana contest is sponsored by MCA CPAs & Advisors.
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.
For fairness, the initial matchups were generated via an online randomizer, notes the Indiana Chamber.