VOTE: Captain Springfield 3, the first round

Show Caption Hide Caption Captain Springfield Doc Swagbot Creative made a short film about the Captain Springfield contest.

Who are our favorite Springfieldians? Who represents the city well? Who fights for us?

Who is Captain Springfield?

In our third year of the contest, we have perhaps our most varied group of nominees, many of whom you may not know.

Now's your chance to get to know them.

Our first round features 16 people who received the most nominations earlier in the week. The match-ups were drawn at random from a miniature batting helmet, because this is a very serious contest.

Readers can vote once each hour, and each round will last about 24 hours. We'll narrow it down until we crown our third Captain Springfield.

Our 2016 winner was Matt Simpson of Ozarks Technical Community College. He's now a Springfield City Councilman. Our 2017 winner, and current champion, was Rep. Crystal Quade.

If you don't see the voting modules in each match-up, refreshing the page could make them appear.

Here's your 2018 field.

Jody Glazner vs. Bon Tindle

Glazner is the director of Springfield Dream Center, which offers after-school programming, adult education, a food pantry and more in the northwest part of Springfield. She was recently named a Outstanding Young Missouri State Alum.

Tindle is a freelance writer who has been outspoken in local and state elections, earning her the title of "political operative" that she has jokingly accepted. She briefly considered a run for Springfield City Council before deciding to stay in her role as a citizen journalist.

Kyle Drenon vs. Alexander Johnson

Drenon is the Director of Marketing for Murney Associates. In addition to winning awards for the way he markets real estate agents, he creates all those fun Springfield-themed quizzes and listicles. He is a twin, but please don't hold that against him it's not his fault.

Johnson is the campaign manager for the current Captain Springfield, Rep. Crystal Quade. He also works with Missouri Jobs With Justice, which advocates for workers' rights. He's a recent Drury University graduate.

Larry Flenoid II vs. Paul Allen

Flenoid is the co-founder of a nonprofit called Real Love Equals Real Change and organized the first 417 Day this year. He works for All-American Rental and organizes community events. He and his group have helped more than 1,000 people get registered to vote for the upcoming election.

Allen is the general manager of Farm 2 Counter, a north Springfield corner store that has attracted attention from two national convenience store magazines for its innovative business model and gourmet offerings.

Jeff Kessinger vs. Rachel Anderson

Kessinger is the communications manager for the Downtown Springfield Association. He's the former sports editor at the Christian County Headliner News and is the father of twin toddlers, so he probably needs a nap.

Anderson is the interim director of the eFactory, the manager for musician Shaun Munday and the co-founder of Rosie, an advocate network for current and prospective female founders, business owners and leaders in Springfield.

Crystal Methyd vs. Springfield Thor

Methyd is a drag artist and host of the Springfield drag show Get Dusted. Also self-described in her Twitter bio as "The Queen City's Crust Punk DIY Fairy Godmother." She aims to be the second consecutive Crystal crowned Captain Springfield.

Like past entrant Springfield Batman, Springfield Thor aims to protect the city primarily by attending charity events and doing whatever he can to make kids happy. At a recent Convoy of Hope event, he reported washing a child's feet before she tried on shoes.

Raymond Oliver vs. Janet Dankert

Oliver rose to internet fame recently when he reported that a private security firm improperly took marijuana from his apartment. Readers fell in love with Oliver's personality thanks to quotes like: "I'm still kind of mad about it. That was some good bud. That was some really good bud."

Dankert is the President/CEO of Community Partnership of the Ozarks, which has the mission to facilitate and promote the building of resilient children, healthy families, and strong neighborhoods and communities through collaboration, programming, and resource development.

Janelle Reed vs. Kevin Agee

Reed is the outreach and special events manager for Victory Mission, which primarily serves the local homeless community. She also founded the organization SingleMomzRock, which aims to connect and assist single mothers in the Springfield area.

Agee is a new media specialist in Missouri State University's Office of Communications. Most publicly, that means he runs the university's popular social media accounts. He nominated the original Captain Springfield, Matt Simpson.

Bradley Dowell vs. Dana Ford

Dowell isn't as famous as some of our entrants, but that's part of his charm. He's active on Twitter, where fans nominated him, but be warned, it's not all SFW. He recently changed his Twitter name to "Sex Haver (see bio)" in which his bio says he has children. By day, Dowell is a "vendor for a company that distributes a certain brand of snacks."

Ford is the head coach of the Missouri State men's basketball team. He was hired this offseason and has already received much support from the local fan base thanks to a strong press conference and early success on the recruiting trail. He previously coached at Tennessee State.