THE organiser of two well-established and popular week-long festivals for York residents has been nominated for a Community Pride award.

Sue Lister, of Curlew Glebe, is well-known throughout the city as the person who instigated the York 50+ Festival in 2005 on behalf of the York Older People’s Assembly and for taking over the running of York International Women’s Week.

Ms Lister has been nominated as volunteer of the year in The Press Community Pride Awards to celebrate the unsung heroes of the city.

Nominating her for the award, Coun Anna Semlyen, said: “Her energy and dynamic ability to inspire and co-ordinate events is not just unusual, but outstanding.

“What she does enriches the potential resources of the city, adds to its cultural diversity, and promotes respect and equality for women and older people.

“Sue Lister is an activist, a community champion and incredibly capable.

“She stands up for women, for local people’s groups, for diversity, for older people and is prepared to put in months of volunteering every year for the promotion of increased understanding and awareness of women’s and older people’s concerns and status in society.

“She is there to shatter stereotypes, rediscover the huge resources lying in the hands of women and older people and celebrate them with everyone in the community.”

As well as her running the festivals, Ms Lister also raises money for charity.

She sits on the Equality Advisory Group and the York LGBT Forum and campaigns for green energy and jobs, among other things.

After learning she was being nominated for the award, Ms Lister said: “What a thought. Well, I would be honoured to find out that anyone cared enough and had noticed what I’ve been up to.”

The Community Pride Awards, which will have a York 800 theme this year, are run in partnership with City of York Council and sponsored by Benenden Healthcare.

You can nominate people or groups through The Press website by visiting yorkpress.co.uk/news/communitypride/