It’s my favorite time of the year – football on the weekend, primo Yankee Candle fragrances burning in the air, we’ve got a little bit of relief from that hateful summer heat, and we’re gearing up for the SoBros Staff Awards here ’round SoBros HQ. I’m working on wrapping up our to-do list for the year and working towards what is probably my only real vacation of the year. I have a toxic drive – I get it, but I always put that shit on hold for the holidays, and they’re right around the corner.

So, I’m pumped to share this year’s ballot – if you’re one of our regulars, I highly encourage you to make your voice heard if there’s a particular SoBro, podcast, or article that you’d like to show some support for this year. All it takes is logging into your Google account and filling out the form embedded below. LFG!

2021 SoBro of the Year

Brittany Fernandez (Twitter) – After earning the 2020 SoBro of the Year Award, Brittany defended that title with a 2021 campaign that included more movie reviews, shopping guides and things to do for Spooky Season in Nashville, credentialed coverage of the Chattanooga Film Festival, And, of course, she debuted everyone’s favorite beer review video series, ‘Drinking Really Cool Beers’ earlier this year. Behind the scenes, Brittany continues to present herself as someone with creative solutions to practical problems facing SoBros Network. She is willing to jump in and help wherever she is needed, providing the graphics for both record-setting SoBros live event streams back in the spring. Brittany finishes the nomination period 4th among SoBros in articles written this year, and 5th in podcast appearances. And, she even became a referenced film critic on IMDB!

Steven McCash (Twitter) – Our Music Columnist and Utility Man produced 76 articles and hopped on 29 podcasts this year – both marks are good for 3rd among SoBros staff. Steven was out and about town all year long, attending shows, covering and interviewing artists, and compiling the latest releases and show dates for New Music Friday and Your Guide to Live Music in Nashville. He was credentialed to cover this year’s Pilgrimage Festival as well as the 2021 Nashville Film Festival. 2021 also saw Steven pilot a brand new podcast on SoBros Network, taking a look at movies as they approach the legal drinking age – Drinking With…Steven McCash. Along with Stoney Keeley and Outspoken Owen Reed, Steven also set the record for longest livestream in SoBros history this year, broadcasting along with the entire first round of the NFL Draft, and staying online for five consecutive hours. He has earned the ‘Utility Man’ designation by extending his areas of coverage beyond music and movies, reviewing Nashville area restaurants, contributing to our weekly football betting column, co-hosting the College Football Roundup, and discussing all things Nashville on the SoBros Power Hour.

Rooster (Twitter) – Rooster has previously won Article of the Year honors in the ‘Actual Journalism’ and ‘Funny As Hell’ categories, History Lesson was voted the ‘Recurring Feature of the Year’ for 2017, and she has a demonstrated knack for putting herself square in the middle of her work and allowing the reader to see things through her eyes. But, it is her work in driving Phone It In to being the 2nd most downloaded SoBros podcast per episode that has been particularly impressive throughout 2021. Each episode is carefully considered, researched, and driven by Rooster’s work and ideas. She is also one of four SoBros (along with Stoney, Brandon, and Cadbury) to have donated to our various charitable efforts EVERY year for the last five years. She is a supportive teammate, having won the SoBros Network’s ‘Core Value Award’ for uplifting others in 2019. Oh, and we’re pretty sure someone once created a lesson plan for their class based on one of her History Lesson pieces. Cool.

Brandon Vick (Twitter) – Our resident film critic produced 154 articles and hopped on 38 podcasts this year – both metrics were second only to the EIC. He was credentialed to cover the Nashville Film Festival (2020 and in 2021), the Chattanooga Film Festival, and the Atlanta Film Festival. In 25 episodes of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast, he reviewed movies, profiled actors, actresses, and filmmakers, talked film franchises and genres, and he hopped on the SoBros Power Hour, and Drinking With…Steven McCash as well, in addition to broadcasting for four hours on the VFP Oscars livestream. Brandon surpassed 800 career posts on SoBros Network this year. This is his 5th consecutive nomination for ‘SoBro of the Year,’ and would mark his third win (2017, 2018) should he take home the hardware. Movies aside, Brandon also deserves credit for the ‘Sunburned Sumbitch’ t-shirt idea, which is one of SoBros Network’s best-selling shirts of the year, and he deserves credit for coming up with the ‘minds right, asses tight’ slogan.

The Rest of the Awards

• Article of the Year (Actual Journalism)
• Article of the Year (Social Media/Pageviews)
• Article of the Year (Funny As Hell)
• Event Coverage of the Year: Brittany Fernandez (Spooky Season (2020), Chattanooga Film Festival), Stoney Keeley (Super Bowl LV, NFL Draft), Steven McCash (Chattanooga Film Festival, Pilgrimage Festival), Brandon Vick (Atlanta Film Festival, Nashville Film Festival (2020), Chattanooga Film Festival, Full Frame Documentary Festival)
• Podcast of the Year: Drinking With…Steven McCash, Phone It In, The SoBros Power Hour, The Unofficial Titans Podcast, The Vick’s Flicks Podcast
• Guest Post of the Year: Jake Arthur on The Unofficial Titans Podcast, Charles Barnes on The Unofficial Titans Podcast, Allan Bell on The Unofficial Titans Podcast, Michael Gilliam on the SoBros Power Hour, Zach Lyons on The SoBros Power Hour, Shayne Parker on Drinking Really Cool Beers
• Video of the Year: “Stoney 2020” by Stoney Keeley, Drinking Really Cool Beers by Brittany Fernandez, Yankee Candle Reviews by Stoney Keeley, “Ticklebits: Opinel Knife Review” by Stoney Keeley, “SoBros Hot Minute: Mike Vrabel” by Stoney Keeley, “Get a deal-closer with MANSCAPED’s Refined Cologne” by Stoney Keeley
• Podcast Episode of the Year
• Recurring Feature of the Year: Forgotten Treasures of Americana by Stoney Keeley, Movie Review Rewind by Brandon Vick, Nashville Reviews by Various SoBros, Netflix Nourishment by Brandon Vick
• Column of the Year: Heisman Watch by Stoney Keeley, New Music Friday by Steven McCash, The SoBros Mailbag by Stoney Keeley, Tank the 401k by Stoney Keeley, Steven McCash, and Stan

Also, though he’s not on the ballot because he’s technically the only SoBros rookie this year, that’s not going to stop us from giving Outspoken Owen Reed (Twitter) his victory lap. Owen stepped in on The Unofficial Titans Podcast, and recorded 24 episodes with Stoney this year. He’s been willing to hop on the mics at a moment’s notice this year. But, it’s his positive outlook on the podcast, his supportive attitude of the SoBros team, and fun-loving spirit that has allowed him to make a strong connection with the other SoBros and listeners of The Unofficial Titans Podcast. He also did the live broadcast that went for just under FIVE HOURS as we covered the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft. Oh, and he took a stab at writing on the site and produced a killer piece on Jon Robinson’s early round draft pick and it ruled. Owen has quickly become a valuable and appreciated member of the SoBros family.

Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network, and a Dogs Playing Poker on velvet connoisseur. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD, #BeBetter, and ‘Minds right, asses tight.’ “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, Yankee Candle, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley

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