Time to nominate your community heroes once again.
JEP readers are again being asked to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of Islanders with the launch of the 2022 Pride of Jersey awards.
The awards, first held in 2015 and now in their seventh year, recognise the amazing contribution of individuals, charities, businesses and other organisations who go that extra mile to help others and support the community.
Nominations have now opened for the 14 categories listed on page 2. To nominate a community hero please go to prideofjersey.com and click on the nominate tag at the top of the page.
For this year’s Pride, the JEP is delighted to announce a new headline sponsor for awards night on 22 September. Jersey Post said that as a long-standing Island institution with such a crucial role at the very heart of the community, the company was excited to be partnering with the JEP and its many thousands of readers to support such a positive initiative.
As in previous years, nominations will be invited before a public vote. The three nominees attracting the highest number of votes will be shortlisted as finalists in each category. A panel of judges for each category, made up of last year’s winner, a representative from the category sponsor and a member of the JEP team, will then choose a winner, to be announced on awards night in partnership with Jersey Post.
Last year’s event, the first for two years because the gala evening in 2020 had to be cancelled owing to pandemic restrictions, saw worthy champions crowned across the 14 different categories. A record-breaking 36,887 votes were cast for the 153 Islanders who were nominated.
Mark Siviter, chief executive of Jersey Post, said: ‘Jersey Post is proud to sponsor the 2022 Pride of Jersey Awards. As an Island brand at the heart of the community, we recognise the importance of honouring the remarkable and inspirational work done by individuals making a real difference in our island.
‘Our support for this event underlines our community ethos, which is reflected in the Pride of Jersey Awards celebration.’
JEP editor Andy Sibcy said: ‘The Pride of Jersey Awards have always been a highlight of my year as editor as they are a chance to meet and celebrate so many of the often unsung, but extraordinary, heroes who do so much for others and their community.
‘It is so humbling, inspiring and heart-warming to hear their stories.
‘I will never forget last year’s ceremony which underlined, after a two-year gap because of Covid, just how important these awards are to so many people.
‘There were so many amazing moments but I will never forget the team from Mencap winning the Environmentalist of the Year award and Gary Burgess accepting his Community Champion award plus, of course, the song sung by the astonishingly talented young Hamish Brodie, one of the Child of the Year winners, at the very end.’
He added: ‘Please help us celebrate the very best of us again this year by nominating people who have really made a difference. There are many categories to consider and so many people worthy of a massive Pride of Jersey thank-you.’
All three finalists will be invited to a ceremony where the winner will receive a prize worth £1,000 from their category sponsor.
Mr Sibcy continued: ‘I would also like to thank the many companies, organisations and individuals without whom the awards would not be possible.
‘They include our sponsors, and particularly our new headline awards-night partner Jersey Post, and many, many others.’
Last year’s winners included journalist, broadcaster and JEP columnist Gary Burgess (Community Champion), Mencap Jersey (Environmentalists of the Year), Dr Ivan Muscat (Inspirational Leader), Andy Le Seelleur (Mental Health Champion), Kayleigh Carson (Neighbour of the Year) and Luke Du Val (Young Ambassador).
