I'm agreeing with Orchid and Esarosa in regards to MOTS receiving the ability to change their custom title as a prize. This is why members have the ability to add a personal text, which shows below the avatar. It doesn't mean in any way that those nominated for MOTS are not deserving, or hardworking, it simply means the community saw a bit more from those voted as MOTS. A lot of users don't try to get MOTS, they simply go about their business helping people, commenting nice things on threads, adding their input here and there, and contributing to the community with their creations. When users vote for MOTS, I would like to think they vote for who seems the most genuine in their efforts towards the community.
With that said, you shouldn't feel bad, Ellen! Even being nominated means you were recognized by the community for all you do. And who knows, maybe you lost the vote by one, or two? You never really know how close you were. MOTS is just a title that goes away within a few months, these members still go about what they were doing, as do those nominated.
Going back to custom titles, I think they should be left as little consolation prizes for those who truly go above and beyond and were voted MOTS. I like Orchid's idea about badges though, they could go on your profile page so they don't clutter up the mini profile and could include things like when you won a contest, got MOTS, or were nominated for something. Maybe even participation badges, such as for holidays and what not.