NOMINATIONS for the 2025 Pride of Jersey Awards are due to open next week as the competition marks its tenth anniversary.
The community event, which is organised by the Jersey Evening Post, aims to honour individuals, charities and other organisations that go the extra mile to help people and make Island life special.
Hundreds of Islanders are nominated each year in one of 14 categories, from doting grandparents and committed teachers, to helpful neighbours and all round angels.
The nomination period for this year’s awards is due to open on Thursday 10 July.
Last year saw a record-breaking 315 nominations, with 33,289 public votes cast in the competition. The most popular categories for nominations in 2024 were Customer Service Employee of the Year and Volunteer/Fundraiser of the Year. Following the public vote, shortlisted finalists in each category will be invited to a ceremony in October, when the winners will be announced. The winners are selected by a panel of judges.
Each winner will receive a prize worth £1,000 from the category sponsor.
The Gary Burgess Award will also be presented to a community champion, with the winner being chosen by members of the media and the late presenter and journalist’s loved ones. This award aims to celebrate a special person who, through their words or actions, has stood out as a beacon for the Island community, guiding, supporting and bringing people together through their example.
This year’s event is supported by joint main sponsors DFDS and Jersey Post.
Former JEP deputy editor Carl Walker, who set up the awards in 2015 to mark the newspaper’s 125th anniversary, praised the success of the event a decade on.
“The fact that the awards are now reaching their tenth year shows just how dearly Islanders value each other,” he said.
“From a personal perspective, I am very proud that the awards continue to be a success. It took a great deal of work and team effort to get the ball rolling, and there is clearly no stopping it now.
“I always knew there was a space in Jersey to celebrate the true champions of the Island’s community and, to date, we must have had thousands of Islanders nominated and scores of award winners.”
James Filleul, chief executive of All Island Media, the parent company of the JEP, said: “Each year gets better and better, and that is testament to the truly special people we have in the Island – most of whom don’t look for any particular recognition.”
Mr Filleul continued: “It is our opportunity to say ‘we see you’ – that the work they do, and the people they are, is valued, and it means a lot to all of us. It’s so easy to forget what we have here in Jersey, but Pride is a chance to remember why we all choose to call this our home.
“Whatever is going on in the wider world, or in our own lives, it’s a great reminder that there is so much to value all around us; that you don’t have to look that far into our community to discover character, leadership, courage and inspiration.”
