Well, I have to admit. I was very pleased and proud of your participation in our  FIRST EVER AND PLUPERFECTLY UNOFFICIAL KANE COUNTY CONNECTS CONTEST.

As you can see in the contest results — (hopefully) embedded in this article and posted in a chart below — no fewer than 93 people cast a vote, which exceeded my wildest expectations.

Like the Family Feud on steroids, we’re going straight to the No. 1 answer, so that you can stop hyperventilating with anticipation.

What’s the Best ‘Token of Esteem’ for Kane County? Survey says! ….

A basket of “Made in Kane County” treats! (Insert King Arthur’s Court-style fanfare here.)

Examples of the contents of said basket included the Elburn Market’s hard salami, Graham’s Chocolate, All Chocolate Kitchen treats, Kuipers’ homemade apple jam, Acquaviva wine and Moveable Feast brownies. But you can let your imagination run wild.

I like it. That doesn’t mean, necessarily, that Kane County is going to use that idea. But certainly public officials now have something to go on.

Thirty-seven percent of respondees chose the gift basket, edging out “a metal replica of a fox” by four votes. We added the suggestion that the fox could be near lifesize, like the ones on the St. Charles bridge, or a smaller desktop ornament.

I think it’s safe to say that your voting, plus the 11,000 provisos I’ve listed in two previous articles, officially takes me and Dawn Barsanti off the hook of having to judge the “contest.” (This is one of the things that makes this contest pluperfectly unofficial. Kind of like the “No-Prize” Stan Lee used to give out in his Marvel Comics soapbox from the 1960s.)

That said, if I HAD to make a choice, I might have gone for the Kane County Cougars ball and cap. Nothing says America like baseball, and Kane County is right there in the name, and the “token(s) of esteem” is in the $15 to $50 range, and probably closer to $15, and it answers the core question: “What do you get the Swedish ambassador who has everything?”

That’s my rationalization, anyway, and I’m sticking with it until someone tells me otherwise.

But I also like the walking stick and the fox and the customized jigsaw. Heck, I like them all, and would be happy to receive any of them as a gift, as I’m sure any visiting dignitary surely would.

Read More

• KC CONTEST: WHO CAN COME UP WITH BEST IDEA FOR A KANE COUNTY ‘TOKEN OF ESTEEM’?
• READER POLL: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE KANE COUNTY ‘TOKEN OF ESTEEM’

What’s the Best ‘Token of Esteem’ for Kane County?