Cool Desert Nights Admits Error After Wrong Winners Awarded

The Richland Chamber of Commerce and the Cool Desert Nights Committee have publicly apologized after discovering a judging error that caused multiple awards to be awarded to the wrong people.

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For many classic car owners, winning an award at Cool Desert Nights is the highlight of months, or even years, of hard work restoring and maintaining their vehicles.

Richland Cool Desert Nights Spreadsheet Error Changed the Judging Results

The committee said in a Facebook post that a spreadsheet mistake shifted participant numbers by one position in nine judging categories. That meant the wrong names appeared on the final awards list that was used during the awards ceremony.

Organizers also admitted that some winners were not announced at all because the event emcee recognized something wasn't right with portions of the list.

After reviewing the judging records, the committee said the mistake was entirely on its end and accepted full responsibility for what happened.

The corrected winners list is now being verified by hand, and organizers are saying they are auditing the results three separate times before releasing the final official list.

This is How Cool Desert Nights Organizers Plan to Make It Right

To address the mistake, Cool Desert Nights says it will:

Produce new plaques for the correct winners.
Publish a fully corrected list of award recipients.
Personally deliver awards locally or ship them to out-of-town winners.
Provide complimentary registration for the 2027 Show & Shine to every participant directly affected by the judging error.

The committee explained that this year's event used a new judging process designed to make the growing car show more efficient. Instead, organizers say the new system failed in a way they didn't anticipate.

While this year's judging mistake disappointed many participants, organizers say they're committed to correcting the results, making things right for those affected, and improving the process so the same error doesn't happen again.