AFTER months of waiting, the winners of our Community Pride Awards will finally be unveiled at a ceremony at York Racecourse tonight.
The awards dinner, which is being held for the eighth year, will give all the finalists their richly deserved moment in the spotlight.
We have invited finalists from each of the 13 categories to join us for a celebration of their efforts to make York a better place.
BBC presenter Colin Hazelden will compere the evening, while the sponsors of our awards will be on hand to honour the winners.
Francine Clee, deputy editor of The Press, said: “As a newspaper, we get to see all sides of life and sometimes have to report on the unpleasant, so we are delighted to be able to recognise the people who make York great.
“All of those who have made our finals are shining examples and although there can only be one winner, they are all heroes in the York community.”
Among the many remarkable contenders shortlisted for the awards this year is record-breaking paraplegic microlight pilot Dave Sykes, who flew from England to Australia, becoming the first paraplegic pilot to fly the journey solo.
Dave has been nominated for the Fundraiser Of The Year award for his extraordinary fundraising achievement for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Meanwhile, teenage Army cadet Hayden Davies was nominated in the Spirit Of Youth category by his foster dad for giving first aid to a woman who collapsed in the street and eight-year-old Hannah Jayne Martin, who was born weighing less than a bag of sugar, has been nominated for Child Of The Year after making a name for herself in the world of kickboxing at the age of eight.
The Press is staging the Community Pride Awards in conjunction with City of York Council and Benenden Healthcare Society.
Let’s take pride in our heroes
NEWSPAPERS often have to report on unpleasant things. So it is refreshing to be able to convey some positive news for a change.
Tonight is the night when the city’s local heroes have their well-deserved moment in the spotlight. Dozens of finalists will be gathering at York Racecourse for the finals of our Community Pride Awards.
The annual event, now in its eighth year, recognises the very best of human nature: the unsung heroes whose courage, generosity or dedication does so much to help make York the wonderful city it is.
Among the finalists tonight are paraplegic microlight pilot Dave Sykes, who piloted his tiny aircraft from York to Sydney, Australia, with his wheelchair strapped to the back, to raise money form the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
Then there is eight-year-old Hannah Jayne Martin, who was born weighing less than a bag of sugar but, at the age of eight, has already gone on to make a name for herself in the world of kickboxing.
They are only two of many. The identities of the winners are being kept secret until tonight. But every one of our nominees is a winner. York can be proud of all of them.
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