We’ve been verifying users left and right since Rex made the announcement on Dec. 22.  When we started this process, I honestly was skeptical that many people would be willing to participate in our experiment of an open, verified community online. You guys have proven me wrong. As of today, we have more than 450 verified commenters and 64 pending applications.

And, as promised, those 450 verified commenters were entered into a drawing today — a token of our thanks for taking the time to get verified early. We are pleased to announce our winners:

• Michael Blais, of Lewiston, has won a $100 gift certificate to Best Buy
• Marc A. J. Jalbert, of Lewiston, has won lunch with Executive Editor Rex Rhoades
• Joe Gray, of Auburn, has won a police beat ride-along with reporter Mark LaFlamme

Thanks so much to Michael, Marc, and Joe, and everyone who has been verified.

Have you put in an application for verified status? You can check your profile here to see if it’s gone through. Everyone who has been verified has a cool green badge when they comment, and in their profile like this:

You have until Feb. 1 to apply for verified status if you have not done so already to continue commenting on SunJournal.com. After Feb. 1, commenting privileges will be shut off for all users that have not gone through the verification process.

It really has been a pleasure to speak to you all on the phone and read all your profiles. Thanks again for being a part of our community.