SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
Attending the banquet from Lexington Manor are Susan and Otis Dykes.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
Seen here arriving at the Reader’s Choice Awards Banquet are Jettie Minucci and Eve Tangeman.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
Seated at their table getting ready for the awards ceremony to begin are Sheila and Dick Wells.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
James and Cristina Pike are all smiles during the cocktail hour at the banquet.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
Daryl Fry and Jenna Woertz are excited for the awards banquet to begin.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
Pauline Berry and Ken McGoog enjoy the cocktail hour.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
The girls from Charlotte Heart and Vascular Institute attend the Reader’s Choice Awards Banquet to accept the awards for best cardiologist — Dr. Mario Lopez; and best cardiology group.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
Sun Coast Media Group Chairman Derek Dunn-Rankin addresses the guests and winners at the start of the awards ceremony.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
Leslee Peth, Sun advertising director and publisher of the Punta Gorda Herald, announces the winners at the 2012 Reader’s Choice Awards Banquet Friday evening.

SUN PHOTO BY DONNELL BATES
The 2012 Reader’s Choice Awards Banquet was held Friday evening at the Charlotte Harbor Event and Conference Center in Punta Gorda, with nearly 550 guests and winners in attendance. The categories ranged from service to professional. The evening began with a social hour and dinner, and then moved on to the awards with the sales staff and directors from the Charlotte Sun honoring the winners that the readers chose. Here, the gang from Helgemo & Liou Pediatrics horses around after receiving the award for best pediatrician.