The Name That Buffalo Contest is in full swing and voters have until July 12 to vote on their favorite of five names that will forever brand the World's Largest Buffalo.
A committee of seven members sorted through 3,500 names and each created a top-10 list. The committee then took 90 minutes to turn their 70 favorite name suggestions into a top-five list.
The person who submitted the winning name will be announced July 13 and win $1,000.
The seven-member committee is comprised of contest sponsors, a representative from the Buffalo City Tourism Foundation and two Jamestown College students.
More than one person submitted the top five names, so whoever submitted it first with the best rationale behind the name will win the cash prize, said Nina Sneider, executive director of the Buffalo City Tourism Foundation.
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The top five names are Sir James, which was submitted 14 times, Dakota Thunder, 33 times, Beauford, six times, Dacotah Spirit, 17 times and Benny, two times.
People in Jamestown can vote by donating $1 to ballot boxes at Jamestown Implement, Gate City Bank, KSJB/KISS radio station, Big Dog Country radio station and the Gladstone Inn & Suites.
People outside of town can mail their vote and donation to, Name That Buffalo, PO Box, 917, Jamestown, ND 58401.
Sneider said she has gotten a check from a voter in Anchorage, Alaska.
All of the money raised will go to refurbishing and landscaping around the World's Largest Buffalo.
The Name That Buffalo Contest started with people submitting names from March 1 to April 15. The voting of the names started May 17 and will run through July 12, with the winner announced the next day.
A name dedication ceremony is planned for July 24 at the World's Largest Buffalo.
The sculpture was recently named the third best roadside attraction by Reader's Digest in its Best of America 2010: Reader's Choice poll.
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Sneider anticipates the name to live on with the buffalo, which has another solid 50 years of life atop the hill, she said.
"One of the focuses of the committee was to allow the people of Jamestown to ultimately decide what the name was going to be," Sneider said. "The buffalo belongs to Jamestown."
Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455 or by e-mail at brodgers@jamestownsun.com
